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The beauty of Gaurav’s weaves lies in the fact that they are not sourced from a particular region, NGO or weave cluster, though he works extensively in Phulia (West Bengal). In fact, he is one of the few designers with a handloom in his studio and his trusted weaver Gopalji can be seen in absolute command. He creates his own warps and wefts, structures, thread combinations and colours, all of which makes his style unique. So when you see the double jacquard scarves or the stainless steel threads in his Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, you can immediately tell it is his ingenious thinking that got him noticed. For his NIFT graduation project, Gaurav used nontraditional materials like copper wires and audio cassette tapes amalgamated with fibres to create fabrics. It wasn’t an easy ride, Gaurav admits. With only three months to go, he was still juggling two part-time jobs to be able to sustain his “fashion craziness”. “Sometimes it was hard to pay bills, rent and studio costs—I have done a lot to be able to survive,” he smiles.

It is his restless energy that keeps Gaurav on his toes. “I know weaves have a quiet energy,” he says. “It is sad that till 2005 handlooms were largely restricted to home furnishings and did not cross the fashion fence, with the exception of a few believers.” So he played the waiting game. In 2009, a collaborative effort to promote sustainable fashion, called Shared Talent India, was set up—six Dutch and six Indian designers put together collections and Gaurav finally moved beyond scarves. “That’s the first time I made clothes,” he tells us. “And then, through an exhibition, these were showcased at the London Fashion Week. It was an organic process for me—I’d never dreamt of becoming a designer.”

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For Autumn/Winter 2014, he took up the cause of the Adivasi Dongria Kondh tribe in Odisha, protesting against a corporate trying to mine bauxite at the Niyamgiri Hills. His line V for Vendetta used silk, wool, cotton and stainless steel to tell a tale through jacquard skirts, shift dresses and ikat Kondh saris. “I don’t think I want to make a Benarasi or jamdani, as technicalities come to my mind first,” he says. “Weaving is the most divine art, way It is tough to bracket Gaurav Jai Gupta. A designer, a textile revivalist, a technologist or just a man trying to make a difference by harnessing the power of weaves? Born in Rohtak in Haryana, far removed from the onslaught of fashion, Gaurav wanted to be a musician, but stumbled into design. It was serendipity. “I didn’t really know what to do,” he says. “I painted a bit in school... Someone suggested a course at NIFT, which was a mix of fashion design and information technology, and even though it was a confused one, I did grasp the technicalities of design.” After graduating in 2002, he went on to launch his label Akaaro, which produced only scarves, in 2007. “I didn’t do a graduating show after NIFT,” he reveals. “I opted for an exhibition of woven textiles, instead. I worked with the British Council, and my study in woven textiles at Chelsea College of Art and Design, UK, gave me the means to do this.” Among the many things he did—teaching, curating and weaving—he also brought Jimmy Choo to India and did a show with the designer in Tokyo...one of his most 28 JUNE 2014 GAURAV JAI GUPTA Not one to lust after commercial triumph, Gaurav Jai Gupta secretly hopes for critical acclaim. He is one of the young architects of a new wave in which textiles will be the cynosure.