Motherland, an extension of Motherland Studios, a multi-design space, is all set to launch its first collection for women, called Ingrained. Simple, stylish and chic, the apparel and jewellery have an effortless vibe about them and launches at Motherland Café, A/3 Chowringhee Mansions, over the two-day ‘Ingrained Experience’ on July 30 and 31, 11am-8pm. Prateek Kayan, co-founder, Motherland Studios, chatted with The Telegraph ahead of the launch.

The collection looks striking. Tell us all about Ingrained. How did you conceptualise it?

Motherland has always believed in adding value to life and doing things in a holistic manner. With sustainability and timeless design as seeds of our aesthetics, we strive to grow towards building a conscious brand. Be it our co-working space or our community focus cafe, we have always believed in encouraging quality, class and sustainability in things we do.

I love fabrics and the stories it tells, and good design has always had a catalytic effect on my mind. I would always sketch and envision clothes for women. So finally we got a small team together and set sail to build a global brand for women that focuses on timeless design, quality and preserving of the arts.

Our first edition, Ingrained, is an extension of that belief. Inspired by the classic French capsule wardrobe, ‘Ingrained’ comprises 15 different kinds of handcrafted clothing that every woman across age groups, body size and skin colour, should have in her closet to breeze through the day. This edit will sort you out for a work meeting, charity event, solo trip, romantic getaway and more, without compromising on comfort.

Did the pandemic have anything to do with your theme?

Well the pandemic surely affected our launch dates and affected small businesses like ours but despite all of this, we have come afloat. It also showed that classic designs transcend seasons and trends. During the pandemic, society realised how important it is to connect with each other and with nature. Ingrained, from the very beginning, harboured the concept of connecting with your soul, of being a conscious brand, and clearly walked in opposite direction to mass consumerism and stressing the world with waste, plastic and disregard. Our collection values spirituality and connecting with your self and the earth through the clothes you wear.

We wanted to enrich our garments with elements that are a manifestation of positivity and hope. The seed, finally, bore fruit with the amalgamation of holy basil (tulsi) beads in our designs.

The clothes look so cool and minimal...

Thank you, yes we naturally appreciate and enjoy minimal design and classic palettes. Honestly, less is more and is tougher to execute. Our aesthetic is homogenous across our ventures and creates an identity and class. Our silhouettes are timeless and inspired by the charm of Paris, which epitomises fashion for us... earthy colours and naturally dyed fabrics that compliment our skin and are chemical free. We have used fabrics from villages in Gujarat and Bengal. Our denims are also handwoven and naturally dyed. The quality of our work speaks for itself. We have hand-stitched each garment and each design has a select number of pieces, making it one of a kind. French seams, reversible, hand embroidery… we have embodied quality and class in our collection.

We love the jewellery... so statement-y...

While designing the garments, we couldn’t resist working on a complementing jewellery collection. While the clothes are minimal, the jewellery is statement-y and inspired by life in New York and art deco. I would often go scouting for art deco buildings and sketching them while I was living in New York. Those sketches and walks were used as a blueprint for our first jewellery collection. The pieces are made of brass with 24-carat gold plating done on them. The designs are classic yet contemporary and versatile with clean cuts and shapes. The range — earrings, rings, bracelets, and neckpieces — honours and celebrates the skilled craftsmanship of artisans from Bengal.

What kind of a woman do you have in mind to flaunt this collection?

Motherland is an ode to all women. We celebrate women — their uniqueness, eccentricities and individuality. We believe every woman is beautiful in her own way and should not feel the need to confine herself to the roles set by society. We celebrate the confident, fearless and free women of today who aren’t afraid to embrace their imperfections because those are what make them whole.

The ethos is similar to Brown Boy (the other apparel brand that Prateek found and which has been worn by the likes of Robert Downey Jr and Hrithik Roshan)...

The ethos of all our brands are aligned. We believe in sustainability and building value and that is what Motherland and Brown Boy stand for. Both Motherland and Brown Boy are picking up pace particularly in the West. Our biggest market are boutique stores in Brooklyn, Berlin, Amsterdam, New York and New Zealand.

Who are your icons in fashion?

This is hard to say. I am inspired by design every day. We are surrounded by design and are constantly being influenced by it. Cities, people, nature, buildings, but personally if I do check or shop from a brand, it is usually Scandinavian, or low-key designers in New York. Amongst famous names I personally love Givenchy, Valentino, Coco Chanel is really amazing and Saint Laurent. Dries Van Noten is also quite interesting.

Pictures courtesy: Motherland Studios