When surrealist painter and print-maker Abhay Sehgal announced his new brand, Codebrwn, he promised his audience he’d deliver a line unlike anything they’d seen before. Working alongside his friend and fellow fashion enthusiast, Aayush Khandelwal, Codebrwn utilised fabric as a new medium for his art, transforming their customers into walking canvases for their intricate creations.
The basics of the streetwear look as we understand it today first originated in the US, extending out of New York City’s hip-hop culture while also drawing from LA surf and skater aesthetics. Today, it's a global fashion phenomenon, appealing to the masses through its versatility. Streetwear can’t be strictly defined; it takes from different subcultures, emphasising authenticity and comfort to create an effortlessly cool look.
Japan, Korea, and America currently stand at the forefront of global streetwear, using their unique subcultures to create designs with global appeal. Sehgal and Khandewal were motivated to start Codebrwn because they believe in India’s ability to rise to the top of the streetwear world, not by conforming, but by bringing a quintessentially Indian flair to their work.
India is quickly developing its own streetwear culture, as seen by the many emerging brands we’ve covered that integrate traditional aesthetics and craft elements into their daily-wear pieces. And yet, despite this recent influx of impressive new labels, Codebrwn manages to carve out a distinct place for itself in our streetwear scene. Sehgal delivers on his promise, as Codebrwn truly creates pieces unlike anything else we’ve seen on the market today.
The duo aims to bring a “brown artist’s perspective”, as their shirts take Sehgal's paintings and transform them into wearable pieces of art. When we had the pleasure of speaking with the artist back in June, he described his work as surreal yet evoke a sense of relatability. His works are unbelievably detailed, giving way to new discoveries every time you lay eyes on them. This maximalimalist, retro art style lends itself to endless interpretation, creating a fascinating bridge between viewers, or in the case of his new label, consumers, and the artist.
Although Codebrwn launched only a few weeks ago, it has decidedly marked itself on our radar. As Indian streetwear continues to flourish, we have no doubt that Codebrwn will be a major player in not just national, but global style.
Find Codebrwn here.
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