The Fire Within

Launched in 2014 Antar - Agni is the brainchild of designer Ujjawal Dubey. For him, it's all about the human self and the expression of emotions, psyche, behaviour and experience. It is a perspective, wherein one focuses on two extremes - to break away and yet embrace the mundane.

Ujjawal sees fabric like other raw materials that has its own character and nature, waiting to be explored. As a designer focused on his strain of process and method, he believes that clothing is one result; as he merely helps the material speak its own language.

L’Officiel India DigitalRead L’Officiel India in the digital libraryEvery issue and every cover story, on TCG Media.Read now

In a candid conversation with the designer, Ujjawal spills the beans on his new age X naturalist aesthetic. Edited excerpts…

What intrigues you about menswear?

Menswear has always been far more restrictive than womenswear. Menswear being detail centric had a lot of room for experiments, and there was a big void that we saw and wanted to fill in.

Antar - Agni is known for its contemporary perspective and fluid creations. Take us through your design process.

All these years I have just followed my current state of mind, as I am a moody person. The fabric as always, remains our hero, layers and drapes along with the graphic compositions that form a colour block while making the garments help us get closer to our mood. The key remains to connect to our audience as much as we can, from the tiniest detail of skin exposure to the neckline to the way the layers fall on the chest till the mystery around it. We have always focused on making clothes that are personality enhancing. Wearability has been our key rule and we have always worked around that and tried to interpret it in our clothing as much as possible.

In India where there a few menswear designers and bridal often over takes. How are you creating a niche for yourself?

We are simply creating what we believe in and love, it’s overwhelming that people have liked what we make.

How does your love for structure feature in your designs?

I have always been drawn towards architecture, the technical side of everything fascinates me, the play of clean cuts, layered placements, and reinforcements to the balanced weight of the drapes come from my love for structures.

How does fashion inspire and encourage consumers to embrace their individuality and illustrate their self-identity through a genderless style of dressing? Does your approach differ when designing menswear compared to womenswear?

Personally I think the focus should be on freedom. Freedom from being generalised, body consciousness and from your own inner inhibitions and eventually enhancing your individual self and we have always tried to serve that purpose through our designs. We believe in making interesting products. It doesn’t matter who adorns them.

How will the conversation around gender influence menswear in the future?

Men's fashion has been on the move and is constantly changing. The acceptance level has gone up and the belief in sensible and smart clothing has made more impact than before. Androgyny and gender fluid fashion are seen now, more than ever before. This has been one of the major shifts in the realm of menswear fashion. Also, we can see men coming out of the basic T-shirts and shirt pattern and moving more towards alternative clothing and everyday style.

What goes into the making of your signature anti-fit silhouettes?

Our belief system, spontaneity, flexibility, rigorous perseverance and a strong focus on wearability.

How important is sustainability to your art?

Sustainability today is not a trend, but a necessity for our people and environment. When it comes to fashion, I believe that it is an imperative part of the future of the industry, for obvious reasons. Great changes can be brought about by conscious efforts. If sustainability has to be practised, it should be practised not just at work but in one's daily life and routine as well. The basic DNA has to change, the effort towards saving water, saving paper, saving power, saving trees has to be collective and equally practised. Recycling, reusing, upcycling or restoring, a conscious effort made just on one end of the cycle is no effort. Sustainability should be a holistic approach.

Tell us something about your Woolmark experience.

It has been an amazing experience nationally and internationally for us since it gave us great exposure that we really required at that time and it opened a whole new perspective for us.

What are you inspired by at the moment and how does it feed into your work?

My inspiration does not come from a single source and I am pretty open to various inspirations be it the simplicity of life, music, films, history or art. Currently I am drawn towards simplicity because I believe it attracts wisdom which feeds into our work.