Countrymade's New Collection Channels Handcrafted Narratives Of War, Memory, & Resilience

Coming from the motherland of heritage and craftsmenship, homegrown brands sometimes tend to focus their narratives on culture and tradition. Launched in 2019 in New Delhi, Countrymade aims to stand out by blending India's deep artisanal heritage with a modern, military-inspired sensibility, forging a new vocabulary for modern masculinity.

What makes Countrymade unique is that it pays tribute to heritage without being shackled by it. A large number Indian brands emphasize traditional silhouettes and motifs, but Countrymade directs its craftsmanship towards forward-thinking designs, innovative textures, and international influences, making it a welcome and somewhat unusual sight across the country's menswear lanscape.

Since its inception in 2019, Countrymade has paved an incredible path, challenging the norms of Indian menswear locally and globally. It launched at FDCI India Fashion Week, fast becoming a brand to watch. It followed this by taking home the first ever 'Showcase Award' by the Blenders Pride Fashion Tour and debuted at the Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF), where its collection was well-received in the menswear segment. By January 2023, the brand had established itself in international fashion discourse with a presentation at Paris Fashion Week's high-profile trade show, Tranoï — a lofty milestone for any new Indian label.

Channelling the ruins of war, countrymade's latest collection, 'Residual', is not merely clothing— it is a tale told in fabric; a contemplation of survival and an examination of what's left behind. The collection takes its cues from a burned fragment of an airplane's fuselage, transforming the visual and emotional impact of devastation into clothing that is a testament to yjr endurance, resilience, and reverberations of the past.

The colour scheme is rich in dark greys and brown tones, echoing the darkened metals of wreckage. Each work is made with hand-tucked fabric and detailed handmade textures, creating abstract camouflage designs that suggest concealment and disclosure — a metaphor for the human condition of trauma and memory.

Shattered edges on shirts and jackets represent the frayed but resilient souls of those who have been touched by war, representing the broken pieces of history reassembled over time. The prints represent the ghostly fluidity of melted metal, with textures simulating the bodies of war-ravaged aircrafts, where traces of screws and machinery parts provide hints of destruction and hauntingly beautiful narratives.

One of the most impressive aspects of the collection is Countrymade's trademark Kantha stitching — a hand-stitched method commonly used in Indian fabrics. it is imbued with a new significance, its painstaking detail recounting a story of resilience, mending, and remembrance. Residual is a powerful tribute to the human spirit, where even within the detritus of memory, shreds of loveliness and survival are left.

Countrymade redefines Indian fashion by treading a line between heritage and modernity, experimentation and craftsmanship, and history and innovation. Though the brand is based in Indian manufacturing and artisanry, it doesn't subscribe to conventional forms — rather, it interweves traditional techniques with contemporary narratives so that its high-end menswear remains distinctly Indian without being formulaic.

In a country where luxury menswear has often been synonymous with classic tailoring or extravagant occasion wear, Countrymade is forging a new path — one that speaks to a generation that values craftsmanship but craves innovation.

With its daring storytelling, its dedication to human-made perfection, and its knack for taking unbridled emotion and turning it into wearable works of art, Countrymade isn't simply dressing people, it's sewing legacies, memories, and moments into being.

And as the company continues to innovate, one thing is for sure: it's not glancing in the rearview mirror — it's going forward, one bruised, gorgeously sewn piece at a time.

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