- HOMEGROWN WORLD
- #HGCREATORS
- #HGEXPLORE
- #HGVOICES
- #HGSHOP
- CAREERS
- ABOUT US
- CONTACT US
Myths have always been a way for humans to make sense of the world—a bridge between past and present, reality and fiction. They evolve across cultures, often mirroring each other in uncanny ways, despite geographical and temporal divides.
Rithika Merchant, an artist who weaves these mythologies into her work, describes her practice as creating “mosaics of myths that question received histories that are available to us throughout culture.”
Fascinated by comparative mythology, she explores how different societies, without direct contact, arrived at similar stories. For her, myths aren’t just relics of the past; they offer a lens through which she interprets the world around her today. Her semi-surreal, narrative-driven art draws from botanical illustrations, maps, and dreamlike symbolism, creating a space where history, folklore, and nature intertwine.
It is this storytelling through symbolism that the artist envisioned for the Christian Dior’s Spring/Summer 2025 haute couture show. Commissioned by creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, her installation, 'The Flowers We Grew', transformed the Musée Rodin into a dreamscape blurring the lines between fashion and art. Brought to life by the skilled artisans of Mumbai’s Chanakya ateliers and the Chanakya School of Craft, Rithika’s original paintings were translated into nine massive embroidered panels forming a chronological narrative — (Re) Birth, Inner Worlds, Rituals of Care, Shared Experience, Upliftment, Equality, Creativity, Strength and Power, and Tenderness.
These pieces became integral to the show’s narrative, mirroring the collection’s themes of memory, transformation, and nature. With detailed depictions of plants, animals, and mythical creatures, her work created an immersive world that aligned between past, present, and future — just like the folklore she’s always been drawn to.
Rithika’s work, inspired by the rich storytelling traditions of her matriarchal lineage, paid homage to her Kerala roots. The artist comes from a long line of wild, fierce, and powerful matriarchs. This lineage found its way into her designs — jackfruit trees, pepper vines, and banana leaves all made an appearance, their presence tied to memories of the past. Her installation was structured like a visual narrative, with three walls telling different parts of a story: the past on one side, the future on the other, and the present in the middle, where models emerged onto the runway.
The connection between Rithika’s art and Maria's collection was organic. The fashion pieces mirrored the spirit of the scenography — ethereal, symbolic, and rooted in a deep appreciation for craftsmanship. Maria revisited Dior’s iconic silhouettes, like the Trapèze line introduced by Yves Saint Laurent in 1958, but with a contemporary twist. She played with structure and softness — lace-trimmed tulle culottes, floral-embroidered bustiers, and exposed crinolines all formed part of a collection that, like Rithika’s work, felt like a bridge between past and future.
Rithika has long admired textile-based art forms, particularly those traditionally associated with women — embroidery, quilting, weaving. That made this collaboration with Chanakya and Dior a natural extension of her artistic practice. The artisans translated her paintings stitch by stitch, investing thousands of hours into an embroidery process that turned brushstrokes into fabric textures. “Seeing them interpret my work this way has been amazing,” she told Hindustan Times, adding that both her installation and Chiuri’s collection were about “creating a wonderland you can step into.”
The embroidered installations along with Rithika's original paintings are open to visitors till February 2 at Musée Rodin.
Follow Rithika here.
