In Louis de Bernières’ 1994 landmark novel ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’, the English novelist wrote: “We had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches, we found that we were one tree and not two.” Bernières used the metaphor of roots to comment on the difference between superficial passion and a lifelong love that connects us and sustains us.

In nature, too, roots form an intricate architecture beneath the visible world of leaves, flowers, and forests, which sustains the foundation of life on Earth. It is this often unseen understory that informs the latest collection from Studio Medium, the New Delhi-based design label founded by textile designer Riddhi Jain. Drawing inspiration from the complex root systems that grow beneath the earth, the collection translates botanical structures into garments that explore movement, connection, and transformation through textile innovation.

The collection examines how roots branch, spread, penetrate layers of soil, and create relationships with their environment. In Jain’s imagination, roots and radicles become points of departure for motifs, surface treatments, and structure. Across the collection, patterns travel in directional pathways that mirror the organic movement of roots extending through the earth, creating textiles that appear to grow and evolve across the body.

Material experimentation remains at the heart of the studio’s practice. Techniques such as guntai shibori produce sculptural forms resembling root systems that traverse the fabric surface. Delicate embroidery, another recurring element in Studio Medium’s work, adds texture, depth, and narrative arcs. Familiar silhouettes from the label’s design vocabulary serve as restrained foundations, allowing craftsmanship and material exploration to take centre stage.

Drawing on folk traditions that have evolved through adaptation, the studio embraces transformation as an essential part of cultural continuity. The latest collection embodies this philosophy through textiles that remain in conversation with nature, craft, and contemporary design. The collection’s palette draws on an extensive study of soil and mineral formations. Shades such as Clay, Green Shoot, Loam, Mineral Peach, Sand, and Patina evoke the colours of the earth itself, grounding the garments in the ecological systems that inspired them. The result is a spectrum of muted yet expressive tones that reinforce the collection’s dialogue with nature and offer rich visual variation.

The roots collection reflects Studio Medium’s broader design philosophy. Since its inception, the label has treated clothing as a site of inquiry, drawing on South Asia’s textile traditions while continually reimagining its possibilities. Working with processes such as handweaving and resist dyeing, the studio treats fabric as a material capable of change and adaptation rather than a fixed surface.

This approach is evident in the subtle interventions that characterise the label’s work. A pallu may be transformed into a sleeve, a kaftan may change orientation depending on how it is worn, and discarded threads may re-enter the production cycle as new material. These gestures challenge established ideas about how garments function and how textile traditions can remain relevant without becoming static.

Founded by Riddhi Jain, whose background includes the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad and the École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle (ENSCI) in Paris, Studio Medium continues to challenge conventional assumptions about the handmade. Through a blend of technical precision, material innovation, and deep engagement with textile heritage, the label shows that tradition is not fixed in time but continually evolving, much like the roots that inspired its latest collection.

Follow @studio_medium on Instagram.

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