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Meet Anavila Misra—a revolutionary fashion designer whose brand ANAVILA is at the cutting edge of ethics, sustainability and the richness of Indian handloom culture. Her vision is to empower women, rejig the position of handloom weavers—from marginal to equal stakeholders and represent the sari in all its graceful glory. In an exclusive interview with BeBadass, Anavila discusses her childhood motivations, her aspirations for sustainability, and how to further a more conscious brand of consumerism.
Of childhood memories...
“It was such a lovely feeling that it still brings a smile on my face. I was 9 years old and I so wanted to be a teacher in the school fancy dress and the sari was the obvious choice. I wore a printed silk sari from my mother's wardrobe and it felt so special”, recounts Anavila as she speaks to us about her first memory of ever draping a sari. Such was her tryst with the six yards of grace—one that was initiated by observing her mother drape the most beautiful ones—kotas, dhakais and banarasis—and nourished through her childhood years of dress-up and design.
A career in fashion was perhaps a very natural progression for Anavila. She always had a penchant for designing clothes either for herself or for her dolls. Her mother equipped her with the skills of knitting, painting and embroidery—and the rest as they say is history. Anavila very deftly sew her childhood love into her ambitions and career.
Speaking of Linen and Love affairs...
Anavila qualified herself with a postgraduate degree in knitwear design from NIFT, Delhi. She officiated her career by working for export houses and reputed menswear brands—but her real officiation while working with them came in the form of her love for linen: “The quality of the yarn was brilliant and I fell in love with its texture, and how it lends itself to beautiful garments. It is coarse and grainy, yet everything about it is luxurious. The comfort and fluidity it provides to the body is divine. People associate luxury with sheen and lustre, and I wanted to change that perception”, Anavila reminisces with love in an interview with Makers India. Today, linen forms a core part of Anavila’s brand aesthetic. Two other core aspects are handloom and sustainability.
The birth of a revolutionary brand…
After her stint with the export houses, Anavila worked with the Ministry of Rural Development for three years. During this time she closely worked with artisans across the country, and firsthand observed the cleavages between the rural handloom industry and the commercial markets. Anavila perceived the immense potential among rural artisans and the sheer disservice being done to their talent:“There is a huge pool of skilled artisans and weavers in our country. In-spite of their rich legacy and skilled hands they are sitting on the lower end of the value chain and actually earn marginal incomes.”
This ignited Anavila to start her own fashion brand in 2011—ANAVILA—a brand that is ethical, minimalistic, mindful, luxurious and most importantly cares for equitable outcomes. We discuss her motivations, conceptions of sustainability and what sets her brand apart.
What motivated you to create the brand—ANAVILA?
To bring the artisans to the forefront and create exciting contemporary products was the core idea behind starting the brand ANAVILA and everyday I strive to get closer to my dream of self-sustained prospering craft clusters.
What does sustainable fashion mean to you?
For me, sustainable fashion means working with pure raw materials in a value chain that supports and creates value for all hands and minds involved and leads to mindful creation and ultimately mindful consumption. Sustainable employment is a very important part of our work ethics. As a designer, it's very important that right at the time of the design creative process you keep the framework of sustainability at the heart of your thinking, this for me has been very helpful.
How does Anavila ensure sustainability?
Anavila’s core philosophy is ‘Mindful consumption comes from mindful creation'. For us sustainability equals minimal waste and hygienic working conditions. All our fabrics are 100 per cent hand-woven, which involves creating the fabric from scratch and generates sustainable employment in the clusters. We reuse and recycle leftover fabrics, we use natural dyes. Further, Anavila also believes in creating sustainable livelihoods for artisans by ensuring security of tenure. For instance, in Katwa in Jharkhand, there are some seasons when there is no work, yet we try to provide these artisans with some task or other while they are sitting at home, because we are mindful that they need to be sustained on a regular basis,” says Anavila in an interview with Makers India.
What makes Anavila different from other brands that are also into sustainable fashion?
If you look at how our journey began, it started on the premise of sustainability. We are not one of the brands that have changed their track towards sustainability after the world has started to talk about it. I remember in the initial stages of the brand when the identity was still being formed, our range architecture was new and evolving, yet we were always making handwoven, hand detailed, slow fashion.
Since the launch we have continuously worked in collaboration with our artisans, we have been working in the same clusters ever since the inception of the brand and have evolved together. Our collections and each product are mindfully crafted and this has been the ethos of the brand from its inception.
and how can we forget about Busa dolls...
Anavila learnt the art of making rag dolls from her grandmother. All these years later, she incorporated her lessons into creating the Busa dolls—a sari clad rag doll made from wasted fabric. There’s also a deeper intent entrenched within these dolls— bringing the sari to the young girl—if not in the wardrobe, in the nursery.
“We expect young girls to wear sarees and appreciate textiles, but are we giving them solutions?” —asks Anavila as she discusses how young girls play with barbies dressed in western clothes since a young age. “When you do a blouse and sari for a busa, and the girl is playing with the doll, there is a subconscious engagement happening. This was one way of introducing the saree to a young girl, and make them appreciate the garment,” explains Anavila in her interview with Makers India.
Speaking about the creative collaborative process, sexism and the fashion industry..
How do you work with artists across the country and accommodate any creative differences that may arise?
It's always been a collaborative process and now since we have worked together for such a long time, we have begun to appreciate each other's sensibilities much more than ever before. While I design, the translation of that through weaving into a beautiful sari is done by them. So, we collaborate at each and every step and there is a lot of experimentation that is done.
In a manner of speaking the creative differences are taken care of through the process of experimentation, where our creative thoughts collide and a new design emerges, then we put it to through the test of the handloom. Once it becomes real, it's very easy to take a call whether that fits into the collection, the architecture, and whether at an overall level it fits with the brand ethos.
Is sexism an issue in the Indian Fashion Fraternity?
Not at all. I have never come across sexism in my 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, either in the corporate houses I worked with or the craft clusters I now work with. In fact, in remote clusters, I stay with weaver families and am always humbled and thankful for their hospitality and generosity.
What do you think the Indian Fashion Industry needs to improve upon?
We need to make more platforms to interact and collaborate with each other and learn from our collective experience. We need to take sustainability much more seriously and make a step by step change.
Do you think the handloom industry gets the support it needs from the Indian Government? How can the government provide better support to weavers?
I do hear and know about a lot of initiatives and schemes that are being regularly launched by various government agencies. In the past few years, the government has also been trying to organize and plan its efforts in the grassroots. The linkage of craft villages with tourism is a new initiative that I feel can be really promising.
This handloom day we also saw the launch of the new website linking weavers and artisans directly to the market, and an app that tells you about the authenticity of a craft. I feel these are the right steps in the right direction. Also linking students from NIFT to these projects brings in fresh perspective and dynamism to the whole process.
From a hashtag to a more conscious consumer culture…
ANAVILA also endorses ‘mindful fashion’—being more conscious and considerate about the process of how clothes are made. We discuss consumer culture and brand aesthetics.
How can people go beyond a hashtag and selfie to support the handloom weavers?
Clothing like food is an integral part of the way we live. To get a little more conscious of what we buy and be mindful about how and what we purchase can determine not only livelihoods being supported but also making our planet a better place than yesterday.
Do you find it difficult to resist the temptation of mass appeal and stick to your niche aesthetic?
It's not difficult at all actually. When the purpose is clear, whether you are a niche or mass brand—going astray is a result of a lack of clarity and conviction. For us, our purpose is very clear and we live by it every day. Hence the aesthetic becomes a resultant and most of the time it stays true to our purpose.
What would you like to say to the women who are overwhelmed by the idea of a sari?
Well, the sari is the easiest and most versatile textile. There is so much you can do in terms of drapes and styling and it never fails you. Wearing it is also therapeutic as it slows you down, while it may be cumbersome if you don't know how to wear it, but there is enough art in the wearing of it to draw you in.
Meet Anavila Misra—a revolutionary fashion designer whose brand ANAVILA is at the cutting edge of ethics, sustainability and the richness of Indian handloom culture. Her vision is to empower women, rejig the position of handloom weavers—from marginal to equal stakeholders and represent the sari in all its graceful glory. In an exclusive interview with BeBadass, Anavila discusses her childhood motivations, her aspirations for sustainability, and how to further a more conscious brand of consumerism.
Of childhood memories...
“It was such a lovely feeling that it still brings a smile on my face. I was 9 years old and I so wanted to be a teacher in the school fancy dress and the sari was the obvious choice. I wore a printed silk sari from my mother's wardrobe and it felt so special”, recounts Anavila as she speaks to us about her first memory of ever draping a sari. Such was her tryst with the six yards of grace—one that was initiated by observing her mother drape the most beautiful ones—kotas, dhakais and banarasis—and nourished through her childhood years of dress-up and design.
A career in fashion was perhaps a very natural progression for Anavila. She always had a penchant for designing clothes either for herself or for her dolls. Her mother equipped her with the skills of knitting, painting and embroidery—and the rest as they say is history. Anavila very deftly sew her childhood love into her ambitions and career.
Speaking of Linen and Love affairs...
Anavila qualified herself with a postgraduate degree in knitwear design from NIFT, Delhi. She officiated her career by working for export houses and reputed menswear brands—but her real officiation while working with them came in the form of her love for linen: “The quality of the yarn was brilliant and I fell in love with its texture, and how it lends itself to beautiful garments. It is coarse and grainy, yet everything about it is luxurious. The comfort and fluidity it provides to the body is divine. People associate luxury with sheen and lustre, and I wanted to change that perception”, Anavila reminisces with love in an interview with Makers India. Today, linen forms a core part of Anavila’s brand aesthetic. Two other core aspects are handloom and sustainability.
The birth of a revolutionary brand…
After her stint with the export houses, Anavila worked with the Ministry of Rural Development for three years. During this time she closely worked with artisans across the country, and firsthand observed the cleavages between the rural handloom industry and the commercial markets. Anavila perceived the immense potential among rural artisans and the sheer disservice being done to their talent:“There is a huge pool of skilled artisans and weavers in our country. In-spite of their rich legacy and skilled hands they are sitting on the lower end of the value chain and actually earn marginal incomes.”
This ignited Anavila to start her own fashion brand in 2011—ANAVILA—a brand that is ethical, minimalistic, mindful, luxurious and most importantly cares for equitable outcomes. We discuss her motivations, conceptions of sustainability and what sets her brand apart.
What motivated you to create the brand—ANAVILA?
To bring the artisans to the forefront and create exciting contemporary products was the core idea behind starting the brand ANAVILA and everyday I strive to get closer to my dream of self-sustained prospering craft clusters.
What does sustainable fashion mean to you?
For me, sustainable fashion means working with pure raw materials in a value chain that supports and creates value for all hands and minds involved and leads to mindful creation and ultimately mindful consumption. Sustainable employment is a very important part of our work ethics. As a designer, it's very important that right at the time of the design creative process you keep the framework of sustainability at the heart of your thinking, this for me has been very helpful.
How does Anavila ensure sustainability?
Anavila’s core philosophy is ‘Mindful consumption comes from mindful creation'. For us sustainability equals minimal waste and hygienic working conditions. All our fabrics are 100 per cent hand-woven, which involves creating the fabric from scratch and generates sustainable employment in the clusters. We reuse and recycle leftover fabrics, we use natural dyes. Further, Anavila also believes in creating sustainable livelihoods for artisans by ensuring security of tenure. For instance, in Katwa in Jharkhand, there are some seasons when there is no work, yet we try to provide these artisans with some task or other while they are sitting at home, because we are mindful that they need to be sustained on a regular basis,” says Anavila in an interview with Makers India.
What makes Anavila different from other brands that are also into sustainable fashion?
If you look at how our journey began, it started on the premise of sustainability. We are not one of the brands that have changed their track towards sustainability after the world has started to talk about it. I remember in the initial stages of the brand when the identity was still being formed, our range architecture was new and evolving, yet we were always making handwoven, hand detailed, slow fashion.
Since the launch we have continuously worked in collaboration with our artisans, we have been working in the same clusters ever since the inception of the brand and have evolved together. Our collections and each product are mindfully crafted and this has been the ethos of the brand from its inception.
and how can we forget about Busa dolls...
Anavila learnt the art of making rag dolls from her grandmother. All these years later, she incorporated her lessons into creating the Busa dolls—a sari clad rag doll made from wasted fabric. There’s also a deeper intent entrenched within these dolls— bringing the sari to the young girl—if not in the wardrobe, in the nursery.
“We expect young girls to wear sarees and appreciate textiles, but are we giving them solutions?” —asks Anavila as she discusses how young girls play with barbies dressed in western clothes since a young age. “When you do a blouse and sari for a busa, and the girl is playing with the doll, there is a subconscious engagement happening. This was one way of introducing the saree to a young girl, and make them appreciate the garment,” explains Anavila in her interview with Makers India.
Speaking about the creative collaborative process, sexism and the fashion industry..
How do you work with artists across the country and accommodate any creative differences that may arise?
It's always been a collaborative process and now since we have worked together for such a long time, we have begun to appreciate each other's sensibilities much more than ever before. While I design, the translation of that through weaving into a beautiful sari is done by them. So, we collaborate at each and every step and there is a lot of experimentation that is done.
In a manner of speaking the creative differences are taken care of through the process of experimentation, where our creative thoughts collide and a new design emerges, then we put it to through the test of the handloom. Once it becomes real, it's very easy to take a call whether that fits into the collection, the architecture, and whether at an overall level it fits with the brand ethos.
Is sexism an issue in the Indian Fashion Fraternity?
Not at all. I have never come across sexism in my 20 years of experience in the fashion industry, either in the corporate houses I worked with or the craft clusters I now work with. In fact, in remote clusters, I stay with weaver families and am always humbled and thankful for their hospitality and generosity.
What do you think the Indian Fashion Industry needs to improve upon?
We need to make more platforms to interact and collaborate with each other and learn from our collective experience. We need to take sustainability much more seriously and make a step by step change.
Do you think the handloom industry gets the support it needs from the Indian Government? How can the government provide better support to weavers?
I do hear and know about a lot of initiatives and schemes that are being regularly launched by various government agencies. In the past few years, the government has also been trying to organize and plan its efforts in the grassroots. The linkage of craft villages with tourism is a new initiative that I feel can be really promising.
This handloom day we also saw the launch of the new website linking weavers and artisans directly to the market, and an app that tells you about the authenticity of a craft. I feel these are the right steps in the right direction. Also linking students from NIFT to these projects brings in fresh perspective and dynamism to the whole process.
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