How designer Vivek Karunakaran uses fashion to break stereotypes

The palace’s main show arena (Kalyanakottagai), done up in sheer drapes set against Chettinad pillars trimmed with wheat sheaves, served as the ramp where male and female models walked out in designs in a colour palette dominated by a striking red-and-white combination, metallic tones, and sparkling bijoux. While Karunakaran had showcased the Idam menswear line in February at the FDCI India Men’s Weekend held at the Diggi Palace in Jaipur, the more recent show also included a womenswear line comprising bustiers, skirts, vests, coats, veshtis and palazzos among others. The collection, as the press note describes, is “a tribute to a place, identity and belonging."

“What we were yearning to do through the showcase of this line is to tell the world that we are immersed in our culture, tradition and everything else that makes us rooted. But at the same time, we are also re-imagining them in a way that brings in a more global relevance," says Karunakaran.

This reimagination has translated itself on to clothes that are gender-fluid. “We have got veshtis that can be worn by women, we have got bandhgalas for both men and women, we’ve also got wraparounds for both the genders. The collection is a beautiful amalgamation of gender-fluid silhouettes."

At the show, Karunanakaran chose to present his modern interpretation of tradition through not just the clothes but the overall look of the models. “When you layer a shirt with a waistcoat, a jacket and a veshti and show it in front of the grandeur of a Chidambara Vilas, and have the model completely done up with two plaits–“a south Indian way of how the hair is done"–adorned in ghungrus (anklets) and malli poo (jasmine flower), that is a modern interpretation of what tradition is. That is how we want the world to see that tradition is not as stereotyped as what one imagines it to be," he explains. Another highlight for Karunakaran at the festival was the inauguration of Adayalam, a travelling cultural platform he’s envisioned to support and promote Indian fashion, arts and crafts and design.

A few days after the showcase, Karunakaran sat down for a freewheeling chat with Lounge over a video call to talk about his latest collection, the vision he has for Adayalam and what’s kept him ticking for 18 years as a fashion designer. Edited excerpts:

Identity and one’s roots are the themes of your collection, IDAM, and Adayalam. Today, whether it's food, films or fashion, these are topics that are getting loud. How much of what is happening around you ended up percolating into this collection?

When I started my journey in 2007 at the Lakmé Fashion Week, one thing that struck me very strongly was the emotion of how the South was perceived in terms of fashion. I'm not going to pick on that but I feel that (perception) only made my want–to change that narrative–stronger. That said, it’s only been in the last two years that I have gained the clarity and maturity to understand how important it is to celebrate oneself and where you come from instead of conforming to fit in. I think for me (IDAM) is all about this interesting, revelatory journey I’ve had over the past 18 years.

The collection is a rich play of motifs, whether it's the jasmine, the Thirukkural text or even the Madras checks. Please elaborate on the work that went into making them come alive on your clothes.

The jasmine is a very integral part of IDAM. It was a very strong element in menswear collection where I had the men wear jasmine-embroidered veshtis and we had the jasmine motif as beautiful appliqués and embroideries on the shirts of men.

In this more recent collection, we have reimagined the jasmine in every form possible: As print, embroidery, cutwork and appliqué. Similarly, we have reimagined the Madras checks without actually using Madras checks; we have created the textures through topstitching. The script that you see in the collection is inspired by the Thirukkural, which was written by saint Thiruvalluvar hundreds and hundreds of years ago. There are about 1113 kurals but I have selected one that speaks about humility. We have created a checkered pattern with the kural block printed on it.

Every little detail which is in the collection has a deep rooted meaning to it. The whole idea, you see, is to tell the world that we are so creatively excited about so much that we have to offer, and it isn't what you've always seen. This is the new us.

Let's talk about Adayalam, which is described as a travelling showcase. Is it a concept that's been stewing in your mind for a while now?

Adayalam was born out of an emotion which has been brewing inside me for a very long time–the fact that it is so important to support local. The way I envision it, I want Adayalam to be a canvas for storytelling which is relevant to the “identity" of our crafts and the craftsmen. And when I say craftsmen, I'm not just talking about weavers or potters. I'm talking about anyone and everyone who has a certain craft that they would want to put out to the world. I'm talking about chefs, dancers, fashion designers, weavers – anyone and everyone who has a creative streak.

More importantly, we are creating this platform for these people and their craft to be celebrated with one core intent… and that is not to create a reel or a story to to get it written in the paper. The intent is to ensure that it creates a transaction, a sale. It is about ensuring their “roti, kapda, makan". Because only if you have your “roti, kapda, makan" resolved will you be able to kind of have the mind space to think of the next collection, to be able to invest in a new thought, a new idea. I hope and believe that Adayalam becomes a movement where we are able to travel with people, travel with the craft, share it with people and see how we all can support each other.

You've spent 18 years in fashion designing. What has it taken to be a clutter-breaker designer? What are some lessons you've learnt along the way?

I come from an extremely humble middle-class family in Trivandrum. My dad was an engineer, mom, a teacher, and everything I know I have learnt by looking at them. One of the most beautiful qualities that I'm very grateful to my parents for is perseverance, which has helped me stay the course, because this journey has been tough. There have been lots of ups and downs, lots of challenges and equally, very beautiful things that have happened to us in the course of this journey. It has been extremely overwhelming to look back and remember how I started this business from a 200sq.ft room after borrowing ₹20,000 from a friend.

Through the course of this journey, one of the most important things that I have learned is to adapt, evolve without losing sight of the principles one believes in. Ultimately, if you believe in what you do and persevere, people will respect you for who you are. Going back to IDAM, the collection is a tribute to Chennai, the city where my label was born and nurtured.