Analyzing Amit Aggarwal’s Metanoia (Couture ‘21)
Wouldn’t call it Avant Garde, but experimental enough to be against the grain.
FDCI Couture Week brings in designers from all over the subcontinent to truly test their skills in creating immersive presentations on fashion. Out of the somewhat cliché and expected crowd of ensembles, Amit Aggarwal brought justice to its previous collections with his current one, Metanoia.
Metanoia: Conceptualization & Creation
A concept dear to the designer, the whole definition of Metanoia is rightfully diversified with the three natural elements: Air, Water and Earth.
The preface presents us a narration for the designer, describing how his love for the said elements transcribes into tangible forms, carrying the zen of his newfound spiritual journey. Google defines Metanoia as “the change in a single’s lifestyle because of repentance or non secular transformation.”
With each element having its own pieces, it feels almost incomplete to not witness fire personified into its attire-self.
Amongst the sky-reaching mountains and deserted lands inhabited by water bodies, the muses look out of place, yet the same visuals are often used to keep the clothes as the spotlight.
That said, the concept note only being the narration by the designer himself, it leaves multiple clues for the viewer to decode. Thus, the upcoming analysis are my personal views, and may differ from many others.
The presentation commences with the narration, where Aggarwal mentions how he has found the zenith of his spirituality through his long lost friends: the elements of nature. He also touches up on how we should revive our gratitude towards these natural entities.
“Are you alive?
Can you breathe?
Can you touch me?
Do you feel anything?
If you can, you and I, we are the same.
But were we always? I’m not so sure!
Yet, Aggarwal doesn’t keep these personified friends above him, but keeping as equals, understanding that the give and take formula is apt with a mutual co-existence.
The same is defined by the upcoming line, “A life where I breathe and live for every moment. A life where I let my feet touch the earth a little more, the waters wash me to a new everyday and the air caresses me bare each time she comes knocking on my window sill.”
He feels grateful by mentioning the troubles of breathing. Coming from a childhood history of dealing with asthma, one cannot feel grateful until the boon is snatched away from you, quoting: “Until the time when all of this was taken away from me. My being ceased to each singular breath. Tomorrow was just a hope.”
The concluding segment of the narration almost makes it fit for it to be the designer’s last collection, wherein he would announce how converting his thoughts into drapery has been an exquisite journey. But that’s far from the case:
I am Amit Aggarwal, and this is a story of my resurgence.
Join me, as three of my long lost friends Earth, Water and Air, take me on a journey.
A journey that makes who I truly was meant to be
The Amit Aggarwal Ideology
Sustainability is at the core of Amit Aggarwal’s designs. He brings industrial-ridden waste to good use by converting them to wearable pret-a-porter and couture sets.
Along with bendable plastic, the designer incorporates shiny light metallic strings, often so thin you can term it as yarns.
The pre-construction work becomes a task in itself while creating a lone garment. The yarns encompass polymer strips, making it a mix of textile and waste. The museum-worthy outcomes are nowhere a ‘waste’ for the ones who know the essence of it.
Using recyclable materials not only makes the garment much more sustainable, but also reduces the carbon print taken up by the fashion industry. “If one wants to build a better future, one has to reflect upon their past and make it relevant for the future.” mentions Amit in an interview with Live Mint.
However, the techniques are still reminiscent of the old-age times. He mentions Zardozi as a fabric which is made at its traditional state, and not mechanized.
Notable Ensembles
In the hues of pinks, sapphires and emeralds, accents in different dresses subtly symbolize the element they belonged to. The whole presentation with its barren landscape does not provide much impromptu plays, but the message is sent across evidently.
The collection is divided into the three elements, and although I wanted to eliminate mentioning showstoppers in the show, some garments were meant to be the standalone attraction.
Element: Earth
With six garments under Earth, this element takes up the most space in the whole presentation, and rightfully so, as the globe gives us a space to reside in peacefully.
Green Thorns
Adorned with fragments of shades resembling pine tree leaves, the thorns of this green dress is the perfect embodiment of earth as a whole. The nature which surrounds us is brought to a recycled plastic life, with the unorderly movement of the extensions up above the head.
The bright, almost faux green mimic the shades color often used in India to block the sun, an obvious connotation to the way trees help us with some cool shade.
Coastal Combinations
The second garment is a twist on your regular gown, having the muse’s head covered with an array of leaf-like drape.
The gown has a long veil with brighter shades of green in gradient, while the skirt itself is majorly silver and yellow, being the undertones of natural plant life majorly found in the coastal areas.
Nonetheless, all the skirt ensembles have a chrome color shade, making it look futuristic rather than reminiscent of the designers’ love for nature. The idea plays with the foreshadowing of climate change and looking forward to healing it.
Pink Flora
The first two set the scene for something striking. The pink attires from now on point towards the abundant flora around us. Made from placing beads to denote the basic petal flower, this off-shoulder garment comes with a veil as well, yet is presented in a semicircle as the muse lies down.
The head has strings extruding from the dress and covering her head, while her mouth carries a few more flowers similar to the two-dimensional ones on the dress. The top half rightfully resembles petals and its form.
The bottom half of the dress is made from a marble-printed velvet fabric, while the veil resting from the shoulder down is completely made from metallic yarn, beads and recycled plastic molded into tiny pipes. Almost transparent and awestruck to behold.
Tree Veins
A similar take as an earlier one, this dress is the shorter counterpart minus the skirt. However, it does have a direct design approach with literal leaves made as the headgear in shades of neon yellows, bright greens and silvers.
The bottom half is kept empty so as to divert the attention to the top half. The bottoms do have veins of leaves draped around the pelvic area, but most of it comprises emerald velvet, making the silhouette as a standing tree.
The Bloom
An exaggeration of the florals, the gown is completely made of the skirt part having chrome gradients in shades of pearl and pink. The shoulders are fitted with parallel beaded lines. The cinematic sequence for this dress makes it the highlight for the element.
However, if the whole collection would’ve ended here, I still wouldn’t call this one the showstopper, rather it would have been dress 3 (Pink Flora) which took the stage for element Earth.
I also wonder if the shot was taken from the top the skirt might take the shape of a bloomed flower.
Roots
How can one forget the strength which makes these natural skyscrapers stand above all right? The only dress in purple for Earth, it depicts the magic underneath.
The mini couture creation is completely created from pipes of yarn (strings) resembling the twisted roots of trees.
Many individual pipes also break out of the pattern and cover the face of the muse messily, a semi sphere expanding out in the front of the fabric.
The location for this garment brings it justice too. The muse is standing in a cave, which is underneath the surface where the rest of the ensembles were shot. It is also plausible for this to be the last Earth element garment, as we often forget what is under the surface.
Element: Water
Almost all of the dresses in water seem a red alert to the pollution caused in water bodies. From plastic waste to chemicals from factories, this depiction is also a nod to the industry accumulating the most waste with its turnover: the fashion industry.
With four ensembles for this element, it has the least footage, yet the most mentions of environmental hazards, especially relating to our H20.
Snorkeling
Bound to call this the snorkeling dress because of the accents on the face and ear, the first water attire doesn’t disappoint. The dark rose colored waves with corals and oranges is reminiscent of none other than the reefs found at the base of the ocean.
The hemline is highly uneven, yet in perfect sync devoid of any jarred turns and cuts. It seems similar enough to how aquatic plants dance with the water waves. Truly serene.
The muse here is seen running in sand, searching for something. Perhaps her own kind, wanting to merge and become one with it.
Bubble Dresses
At first the translucent piece looks like an abandoned piece of cloth from the previous one (above gown) as it lies on the sand. Similar to a fancy toffee wrapper. Which transitions to dress 3, the water beneath in red with the model lying at the shore.
The bottom half is puffed up and voluminous. Somehow this ensemble is meant to be the transition to something even better: the upcoming dress.
Stringed Attachment
The top half of this dress is similar to the previous one, however it has lost its colorful appeal, almost as if it was burned but it did not degrade completely. The fabric spreads out in an asymmetric manner.
The base of the dress is a bodysuit having shimmery strands coming down from the waist, and becoming one with the grass beneath. The end of the strands have tassel-shaped fabric of the top half.
The atrocities faced by water thanks to mankind is purely depicted in this dress alone. The saturation of the plastic and chemical waste on the never-ending water beds, the dying wishes of the aquatic flora underneath and our strings being attached to the survival of the exact element we’re trying to kill.
Element: Air
A journey where I shall surface and be nurtured, be given a form and be carried forward with my wings spread far and wide.
An excerpt from the concept note above mentions how sky’s the limit for the ones who dare to spread their wings, yet the designer adds on how it helped him stay down to earth as well. The idea behind it is personified into five garments of different hues and textures, all resembling the element air.
Silver Flight
The first in its line aptly translates the ideals of air: flight, strength and life. The muse atop a protruding surface in a crouched position, giving her the silhouette of a peacock.
Although peacocks aren’t necessarily known for their flying but rather their prowess in beauty, we often forget they’re birds capable of flying.
The crown on the head made up of feathers similar to the veil layered with the same fabric confirms the depiction of the bird. The whole garment also has elements of a windmill throughout.
Windmill
Talk about windmills, and the designer would give you half embodied in a dress. The top half of this majestic piece has upturned feathers created from previously used fabrics, with an added large attachment of transparent strips.
Such usage of a light fabric makes this ensemble one with the wind. Yet, it does not stray away from the theme of the collection, with confetti strips gathered on one side and the homogenous chrome skirt seen before.
Instead of being plain silver, the dress has a bit of faded green on its hemlines, almost as if Aggarwal is trying to merge the three in the concluding ensembles.
Halo & Butterflies
This iconic ensemble has impressions of the sun rays. With the shoulder design lifted up to give the muse a halo having floral accents reaching out to her midriff, the scales around it and the skirt match evenly with the chrome pink hues throughout.
The halo could also represent the omnipresent nature of the element. Air being everywhere, and wind being a barrier to block the harsh sun rays, it shows both the aspects of heat and the cool breeze.
Aggarwal definitely embodies the aspects of all the three elements in this collection. With expectations raised, hopefully there will be many more
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I did not foresee the extensive length of this post, but I am glad that I felt the need to analyze an Indian designer’s collection. All images were taken from the presentation. Feel free to take any information for your own use on credit. Is there anything you want me to cover? Let’s connect through Instagram or LinkedIn. You can also support my work by giving me a tip on Ko-fi!
