To ring in the festive cheer and the wedding season, YAJY by Aditya Jain has introduced their latest collection, Kunwar-Sa. Infused with vintage vibes, the Kunwar-Sa edit is developed on luxurious silks suffused with earthy tones and a dense canopy of traditional motifs and includes kurtas, sherwanis and dupattas. With an aim to fill in the void that can often be seen in the luxury menswear arena, YAJY is marching ahead with bold steps and with alluring and sophisticated pieces. Excerpts from a t2 chat with Aditya:
What is the story behind your brand and the Kunwar-Sa collection?
While blogging, I had noticed a void in the menswear industry, especially in Calcutta and I decided to fill that up and finally came up with YAJY. The current collection is inspired by the Kunwars of Rajasthan — the princes of Rajasthan. I was always very mesmerised by seeing the royal weddings of the Rajputs. So the traditional Rajputana Poshaak, the motifs, the intricacies, that is what we have strived to achieve in this edit. We have developed self-fabrications with tonal embroideries using modern techniques of machine and hand, effectively crafted by our artisans. We have incorporated kali kurtas and mini versions of anarkalis, keeping in mind the comfort of the grooms and subsequently, the wearability of the pieces.
What would you say makes your brand unique?
YAJY is all about garments that give a classic as well as wearable look. The USP of the brand is drapes. Our kurtas and also our Indo-westerns have lots of drapes and cuts. We try to put together Indian embroideries with western silhouettes. This fusion also makes the brand unique. Another thing that is important to our collections is the comfort of the outfit. We have come up with deconstructed silhouettes, which give the impression of a complete bandhgala when it is actually a three-piece outfit. This gives the ease of movement with comfort. We try to play with a lot of layering in our garments with the use of mock layers as well.
How are you exploring the digital space for your brand?
Our brand is using various social media platforms to give out information related to our brand in various forms. Even our digital team is working at a consistent pace so that people can get to know about our brand through digital interfaces. We are trying to reach out to maximum audience through various online retailing platforms like Aza, Pernia’s Pop-up store and more.
How do you envision the future for YAJY?
My vision is to make YAJY one of the top menswear brands in the retail industry of luxury ethnic menswear. We are planning more stores in Calcutta. Multiple stores in multiple cities, that is how I would like to move the brand forward.
This peach piece is made entirely of handloom silk and tonal embroidery, best to complement the reds often used for the brides’ outfit. The kali kurta is designed keeping in mind the comfort of the groom while highlighting the beauty of the outfit.
In this look, one gets a proper anarkali kurta with the sherwani hand-embroidered with zari and zardozi. The belt is perfect for keeping the dupatta in place, giving a clean look. “The dupatta is one of the main accessories in the groom’s outfit nowadays. It is a silk dupatta and we have tried to make it complement the colours of the motif,” said Aditya.
Keeping in mind the traditional look of Bengali grooms, this get-up comprises a chikankari kurta and silk dhoti. The muted tones lend an elegant vibe and can complement any colour from the bride’s trousseau.
This deconstructed kurta get-up not only provides comfort, but also ease of movement. It is easy to put on, and has a shrug-like Nehru jacket over the kurta. One can even wear them as individual outfits!