Spin Cycle

In the hands of designer Rajesh Pratap Singh, denim gets an artisanal makeover

The last decade has seen denim undergo multiple therapies more than ever before. It's been stretched, coloured, bleached, stressed-out, recycled and even made water-repellent. However, giving it a "soft, drape like feel" is designer Rajesh Pratap Singh who has paired up with Arvind Mills, the largest producers of denim in the country, on a collection of indigo, excel and khadi denim. "I have always been convinced about textiles and this is a line that I have been working on for a while now," says the reticent designer.

The denim line, currently available at The Collective, showcases the designer's signature style with clean lines and subtle detailing. "I wanted to create a pure and authentic collection of denim. The khadi denim has been handspun and dyed naturally," Pratap explains. Moving away from denim's casual look, the designer has styled this "new" denim fabric into shift dresses, fitted jackets (for both men and women) and trousers. The signature hand-stitched detailing is noticeable and, as he puts it, "the emphasis is on the construction and fabric rather than the wash." The colour palette remains true to denim with indigo that takes on darker hues ending with grey-black. "The making of khadi denim is a slow process but it generates employment for weavers in contemporary times," says Pratap, who is looking to take the denim collection further into retail.

The denim collection is supported by a collection of T-shirts as part of the 'Pratap for Mario de Miranda' project. The humour and life of India's most versatile illustrators has been interpreted by Pratap in a collection of T-shirts "I have been a long-time admirer of Mario's works and knew him personally. He was a great human being and the T-shirts are just a sampler of an ongoing collection that I am putting together," says Pratap, adding, "One needn't change much in Mario's works. I just wanted the intrinsic element of his works to come across."

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