Two designers from Pune give Asmita Aggarwal the lowdown on some original artwork on natty dresses…
Jayesh Sachdev loved art and honed his brush strokes in Singapore, but little did he know that he would win the British Council Award in 2008, and meet another awardee Rixi Bhatia, and that it would be a life-changing event.
“Being an artist you can only paint 10-15 canvases in a year, restricting my audience to a few people who understand and appreciate art. I thought this was a bit elitist, as art must be accessible to everyone, and that’s how the idea of Quirk Box, our lifestyle and fashion label came about in 2011,” says Pune-based Jayesh, who graduated in Visual Communication from the Lasalle College of the Arts, Singapore. He has founded his own art and design studio under the name of Emblem Studios, and admits he is inspired by greats like Andy Warhol and Peter Philips.
After working for an advertising agency in Singapore, Jayesh quit to return to India and immerse himself into art. He has also painted canvases for Ketan Mehta’s film release at the Cannes Film Festival. “Art must not be restrictive, that’s why I like Andy Warhol, it was fun and everyone could get it,” he says.
The design sensibility of Quirk Box is well … quirky and what distinguishes it from other labels is that all the artwork is original, done by Jayesh. Their forte is prints … so you will see offbeat, unconventional ones in the most eye popping hues – nothing is subtle, everything is a bit over-the-top – fuchsia, neons to tangerines. “We wanted to give women something that was original, I am quite inspired by the Japanese Manga comics too, so you will see some bits that come into the label’s DNA,” says Jayesh.
Quirk Box offers dresses from Rs 2,000 onwards, and they have interesting concepts like Dream Factory, Solider, Dolls and Toy factory designs. “We also have stationary, home décor items, cushion covers, coasters, wall art, furniture and mugs. For our Lakme Fashion Week collection, we have knew that we were addressing a prêt audience, but have played with loud prints, and added colour blocking to make them sparklers,” says Jayesh.
Most fabrics are georgette and silks, as the focus remains colour — lots of it. “Indians love colour, and even though we don’t believe in trends, prints will remain our mainstay, irrespective of whether they are internationally ‘in’ or not,” concludes Jayesh.
