Arya Giri’s journey from traditional weaver communities to global runways speaks of a commitment beyond trends. The luxury prêt label, rooted in India, intertwines substance, emotion, and cultural nuances in hand-woven, handmade, and hand-embroidered pieces. Beyond creating stunning garments, Arya Giri challenges misconceptions about craft quality and aspires to be accessible to the informed masses. Fostering a multicultural community, the brand elevates everyday essentials with cultural significance, telling stories through fashion on a global stage. From the vibrant looms of traditional weaver communities to the dazzling runways of global fashion capitals, Arya Giri’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of heritage and creativity. As the visionary force behind Arya Giri, an international luxury prêt label emerging from the heart of India, Arya weaves more than just threads – she intertwines substance, emotion, and cultural nuances into each exquisite piece.
Your journey from traditional weaver communities to global runways is quite remarkable. How has your exposure to these diverse backgrounds influenced your design philosophy and the cultural nuances evident in your pieces?
My interest in crafts and fashion began at a tender age. Growing up around the world, homecoming journeys included religious pilgrimages, family gatherings, explorations of an undiscovered region of India for the Giris, and visits to weaving villages with Mom. Mom, a passionate handloom revivalist from the Royal Zamorin family, would take me along with her when she visited her weaver villages. Days would be spent experimenting with different korvai, colour, and silk count combinations. Thousands of feet away from the land that defined us, the pitter-patterings and rusty punctuations of the handlooms would resound in my thoughts as we returned to whatever we called home at the moment. As a global citizen, I had created what some would call a unique puzzle of peculiarities, ideas, and cultural knowledge. Much of my fascination with the fashion world and handicrafts stems from cultural nuances and the nebulous concept of identity. I suppose that’s where it all began. Arya Giri is a brand founded in India and designed for the world. Metaphorically speaking, we explore aspects of culture on an abstract level that is accessible to the majority. In terms of silhouette, you’ll see a variety of clothing that range from daywear to occasionwear and appeal to a wide range of populations. Cut and dynamic draperies give subtle allusions to our past while also paying homage to India. Finally, our hand-embroidery techniques are proudly Indian and look to the future of embroidery, where legacy and modernity intersect.
Arya Giri stands as a beacon of artisanship, emphasizing extreme quality and emotion over fleeting fashion trends. Can you elaborate on the role of craftsmanship in your collections and how you strive to create garments that transcend temporal fashion fads?
Craftsmanship, specifically hand-embroidery and extreme quality in construction, is the centerpoint of our brand philosophy and is embedded into every collection. With a focus on narrative, we produce hand-embroideries that employ heritage techniques and are re-contextualised with custom contemporary motifs that encapsulate the poetries of every collection. Diving further into our development processes, we are dedicated to exploring ideologies associated with cultural concepts in timeless and versatile manners, you’ll always see that flourish in a plethora of visual tonalities, cuts, and dynamic movement in our work.
Beyond creating stunning garments, Arya Giri has a two-fold commitment: challenging perceptions around craft quality and fostering a multicultural community. How do you navigate the delicate balance between promoting craft in a tongue-in-cheek yet emotional manner and encouraging cultural exploration within your community?
While the tongue-in-cheek vocal tonality and cultural exploration aspects may seem incredibly different, I think they can come together quite gracefully. At the core of our messaging is a curiosity for culture and heritage. With every collection you’ll see us dive into a nuance of identity or nostalgia that is viscerally relatable to many. We infuse this tongue-in-cheek voice to articulate our thoughts in a lighter, more
approachable sense that not only draws our consumers in with ease, but allows them to also experience our creating a culture of belonging together.
Your mission includes shifting the perception that high quality equates to high prices. In an era where fast fashion dominates, how does Arya Giri address this challenge, and what steps are being taken to make luxury prêt more accessible to the informed masses?
I believe AG holistically provides fuss-free garments that feel accessible and simultaneously keep craft alive. Products that foster a community of like minded introspective individuals looking to explore themselves through another dimension. The pace at which the world is expanding on its acceptance and support of artisanship is increasing, but is outdone by the pace at which craft communities are shrinking. My goal is to protect craft and ensure the techniques survive in a manner that is more easily consumable. With that being said, AG offers high quality at competitive prices and are increasingly available. Moving forward, I’d like to focus on reaching more avenues of sale, diversifying our product range, and promoting the dissemination of handcraft knowledge to our audience.
Adding to this, I believe that if pret labels experiment with a similar model and we facilitate collaboration over competition, we will be able to sustainably keep craft and culture alive and incentivise a larger demographic away from fashion and towards us and brands like ours.
The Arya Giri individual is described as majestic, incandescent, and effervescent, valuing quality, history, and a penchant for breaking the rules. How do you ensure that your designs resonate with such a diverse clientele, and what kind of stories do you aim to tell through your fashion?
Our collections are inherently quite diverse whether through the lens of color, cut, story, or texture; thus we’ve been lucky enough to have our work organically reach a diverse demographic. To push this one step forward, we introduced 1.OFFs, essentially these are single piece drops that are unattached to a specific collection. The objective is to offer more variety to our clients more frequently, to personally experiment with new ideologies and observe how they are received, and to extend ourselves to more opportunities. So far, our 1.OFFs have been beautifully received and have personally been very fun and insightful to develop.
When it comes to the kinds of stories I aim to tell through my fashion, it’s a deluge of culture, nostalgia, emotion, curiosity, and warmth. Before entering the fashion industry, I was set out to study journalism. Every collection’s personally written poem exploring a specific identity-related messaging, is my way of scratching that itch, and our consumer’s way of connecting with the piece.
Having graced the runways of New York & Paris Fashion Weeks, how do international platforms contribute to the brand’s global identity, and what challenges and opportunities come with showcasing your designs on a global stage?
Firstly, I think international platforms are fantastic avenues for exposure and therefore learning and growth. They help to solidify the brand in its authentic international positioning and allow a larger demographic to immerse themselves in your ethos and products. In terms of challenges, I’d definitely say there are plenty of logistics to monitor and be overprepared with since these shows happen quite far
from the atelier. Fundamentally, they are great openings to propel the brand further and it can result in conversations with equally inquisitive and insightful individuals and more.
Your presence extends across India and internationally at esteemed locations. How do you balance catering to the local market while also gaining international acclaim, and what role do these different markets play in shaping your design approach?
I would say the wide spectrum in markets is the first thing thought about in our design approach after locking in our messaging for specific collections. We cater to the variety of consumers that approach us by diversifying the range of color, cut, texture, and format of expression through a collection. For instance, in the I Dreamt Up a Trail to the Sky collection, you see a variety of bright and pastel colors, moments of dynamic draping and those of structure and clean cuts, a range of fabrication from satins to linens, and a sprinkling of prints as well.
All in all, I’d say it’s quite exhilarating to be creating for such a wide range of clientele because it allows us to explore limitlessly and indulge in our curiosities boldly.
As a fashion creative, entrepreneur, and designer, you are shaping a global perspective on Indian identity and culture. How does your royal lineage and exposure to weaver communities inform your mission to revive traditions, and what significance does fashion hold in this broader cultural narrative?
My royal lineage was the origin story for my fascination with fashion and specifically craft. Having been exposed to weaver and embroidery communities, I truly understand the intricacies of the community and the downfalls of its method in disseminating knowledge generationally. I wanted to truly attempt bridging the gap of knowledge and consumption in the western world and infuse my comprehension of cultural identity. Born in India and for the World, if you will, was the crux of what I believed could propel AG and the enrichment of our communities.
In some ways, fashion is just the catalyst to further these ideologies, introspection, and community building. Arya Giri has an unique voice that connects those who often feel they don’t belong. It takes your everyday essentials, elevates it, and gives it culture through artisanship and storytelling. It provides us a tangible touchpoint to consider what was, what is, and what can be.
Armed with a degree in Fashion Media and Industries, how has your education from Lasalle College of the Arts Singapore influenced your approach to the business side of the fashion industry, especially in bridging traditional craftsmanship with contemporary global markets?
My time at Lasalle College of the Arts truly inspired the way I systematically think about building out a business that is beautifully infused with a powerful and pivotal ethos and still gets you numbers. Additionally, I’d say the primary take-away was the mastery of skillful product and vision building. You can’t just have an idea and expect people to care about it because of your personal investment in it. You must be able to cleverly articulate its relevance and relatability, and leave your user wanting to know more.
Looking towards the future, what are your aspirations for Arya Giri in the next decade, both in terms of accessibility and fostering a multicultural community? How do you see the brand evolving and contributing to the broader conversation around cultural identity through fashion?
We have so much in store for you! We intend to hit more avenues of accessibility, more opportunities of immersive experience and interaction to further our multicultural family, and diversifying our range of products. The brand has the opportunity to connect on a very emotional level and I would love to see that come to fruition with imperative conversations on the nuances of identity, building out a pride of heritage in the modern lens, and bringing to the fore a new format of consumption.