The Japanese concept of wabi-sabi finds beauty in the imperfect. The asymmetrical, unfinished, chipped and scraped beauties of the world are celebrated rather than deemed in need of fixing. Kintsugi is an art form that encompasses this belief system, piecing shattered pottery back together with gold and silver lacquer to emphasise the breakage instead of trying to hide it away. The pottery becomes more beautiful because of the metallic lightning striking through it, made possible only through its destruction and rebirth.
In the world of fashion, this philosophy is too often neglected. We often aim for perfection, with clothing’s primary function being to make its wearer look as flawless as possible. This belief resonates throughout the industry, down to the conventionally attractive, ideally proportioned models who strut down the runway. But in this pursuit of supposed perfection, we lose sight of fashion’s artistic value. The most exciting designers aren’t afraid of embracing distortion and defect, the cracks in the porcelain.
Vaishali Shadangule sees the value in variation from the norm. Hailing from Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, Vaishali left home at just 17 years old to pursue a career in fashion, going on to start her label Vaishali S. Despite having no support at the start of her journey, Vaishali has broken ground as the first Indian woman to present at Paris Haute Couture Week and the first Indian designer to open a flagship store in Paris, the world’s fashion capital. As an advocate for Indian weaving styles, her work exists at the intersection of Indian textile traditions and pioneering creativity.
Vaishali’s designs reflect the transformative, if unconventional, nature of her journey. The latest Vaishali S Fall/Winter collection, aptly named “Kintsugi,” is a celebration of transformation through deterioration and reinvention, encompassed by the phrase, “Ruin is the road to rebirth.” Taking visual queues from the wear-and-tear of delicate seashells, “Kintsugi” turned delicate handwoven fabrics into dramatic, ocean-inspired works of art. Just like beautiful, yet unapologetically chipped seashells and the natural lines of gold flowing through Japanese pottery, the new Vaishali S collection embraced natural lines and asymmetry. The resulting gowns are sculpturesque, architectural, but with an organic feel.
On the runway at Paris Haute Couture Week, “Kintsugi” came to life. Each gown glided down the runway in a stream of rich aquatic tones, vibrant rosy hues, and light creams, seemingly shaped by the ebb and flow of the ocean. The show was presented with a clear understanding of the strengths of each garment; structured pieces were given stillness and time to be adequately absorbed by the audience, while the models in flowing gowns moved down the runway in contemporary dance sequences, showing off the beauty of how they move and sway. The show was also a celebration of Vaishali herself, as this marks her 25th year working in fashion.
Vaishali S has cracked the code: whether it's porcelain pieced back together, an inspired gown flowing down the runway, or the ups and downs of the human condition, fashion, art, and life itself are more beautiful when you embrace imperfections.
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