CHENNAI: Raw Mango’s connection with handloom began in 2008. The label has been driven by a curiosity to understand the deliberate and spontaneous cultural movements that shape values and systems.
“We started by exploring the Chanderi textile. Our innovations with the yarn and its visual language continue to define that craft. The impetus behind Raw Mango is simply a continuation of that journey,” says Sanjay Garg, textile designer and founder of Raw Mango.
The label is all set to make its debut at the London Fashion Week, unveiling its fall/winter collection, Not About The Flower, on February 23.
When asked about the debut, Sanjay says, “A stage is a stage. Presenting in London is as good as presenting in Kanpur, for me. At the end of the day, it is the work being presented that matters.”
Did designing for a global fashion week influence your creative process in any way, or was it important to remain uncompromisingly rooted in your existing design language?
Our creative process is rooted in innovation on the loom. Our design interventions begin at the level of the weave, sometimes even the yarn. We do not follow timelines or fashion seasons. Our work responds to an internal pursuit, shaped by what excites us, what needs to be explored, and what holds meaning.
Given our design process, it takes years to materialise, as research, testing, and experimentation are involved at every stage. So the collection we are debuting at London Fashion Week is a culmination of years of questioning rather than something designed specifically for this platform.
What are some of your collections that defined your journey and were game-changers?
Textile innovation has always been central. With each of our collections, we introduce innovations within textiles, from making the first Mashru ikat saree to introducing Lycra and Badla on the handloom, and our work with Chanderi, Mashru, and in Benares.
I think our work with Mashru was definitely new. Traditionally, the textile was woven on narrow looms, but we were able to facilitate weaving on 45-inch looms, creating the first Mashru saree.
Our initial collections translated the cow motif from Rajasthani Pichwais into Chanderi sarees. We also incorporated figurative elements in Monkey Business, where the brocade textiles featured the monkey, playful and mischievous, yet honoured in Hindu mythology and Buddhism.
We also introduced human shapes, angels that are ubiquitous across cultures, in Chikankari embroidery.
The Indian fashion industry is gaining increasing international visibility. In your view, what structural or mindset shifts are necessary for Indian designers to sustain long-term global engagement rather than momentary spotlight?
I think the world, and we, are coming to terms with the fact that India is a vast land filled with stories. There is still a strong association between Indian fashion and a certain kind of aesthetic, heavy gold embroidery and maximalist ensembles that overwhelm the eye and the body with bling.
Indian fashion is often too quantified. It is not seen for its innate aesthetic value, but for the number of hours it took a weaver to create a garment. In the long term, it is the creative labour and the larger body of work that will matter.
As someone who has built a craft-centred brand in a fast-paced industry, what responsibilities do you believe established designers now hold towards artisans, younger designers, and the future of Indian fashion itself?
I subscribe to an old-school way of thinking when it comes to textile production. I follow a zero-kilometre design sensibility. That is why my Chanderi weavers are in Chanderi, where they belong, and not working from a factory in Delhi.
It is important to work closely with indigenous craftspeople in a symbiotic relationship, supporting their craft and their livelihoods.
I think overselling and romanticising the craft story is an attempt to sell sentiment, almost fetishising it and creating emotional blackmail.
That said, the biggest positive today is that people are helping the textile industry. There is greater awareness and understanding of textiles and techniques. As long as we can sustain ourselves and our weavers, it is a win-win.