VOGUE India March - April 2023

WATCHING FOOTAGE OF Naomi Campbell own the runway, I imagine, must be akin to watching Rembrandt paint: pure art. There’s a balletic flow to the former dancer’s walk, the melodic swing of her hips, hands that move with ease or are perched at the waist of her dress, elbows winged in perfect poise as her legs stride out to the beat. Sometimes, she’ll sweep her hair forward as she turns in a perfectly-timed motion to show the back—the stuff of runway dreams. This is how you show the clothes. The term ‘icon’ is bandied around too often, in my opinion. It’s a life lived, an oeuvre that reads like a legend, at once intangible and universal. Naomi Campbell is an icon. A Black supermodel who was part of the original trinity…

KATE PHELAN Phelan has been contributing to British Vogue since 1992 and has worked with some of its most celebrated photographers, models and talent. In ‘Crowning glory’, she styles one of the five original Supers of the ’90s, Naomi Campbell, for the model’s first Vogue India cover. Page 88 CAMPBELL ADDY London-based artist Addy’s work, which has appeared in publications around the world, is a celebration of authentic visibility at the diverse intersection of photography, race and beauty. In ‘Crowning glory’, he captures supermodel Naomi Campbell in Indian couture. Page 88 RADHIKA IYENGAR Iyengar is an independent journalist who covers arts, culture, marginalised communities, history and gender. In ‘The fearless disruptor’, she steps into the lush, gem-toned thicket of artist T. Venkanna’s ferociously beautiful artworks. Page 68 SNEHA MEHTA Mumbai-based Mehta writes about design, food and culture.…

DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE who appreciate function over form, Birkenstock—those irredeemably clunky sandals, have become curiously fashionable objects. As coveted as they are mocked, almost 250 years later, the legacy shoe brand still continues to amuse and divide fashion opinions. Founded as a purveyor of orthopaedic soles, the brand put functionality and comfort front and foremost, and appearances secondary. When introduced in the 1970s, the sandals were labelled as ‘funny-looking’ and ‘ugly’, and found loyalists in people who did not typically concern themselves with fashion. The shoe became synonymous with hippies, flower children, grandmas and tourists. But instead of tweaking its design or submitting to fashion trends, the brand embraced its association with counter-culture. Now, as the sandals resurface in the fashion world, it’s because the trend of the times has shifted to…

The idea of a knitwear label originated from wanting to bridge the gap around vibrant menswear, a category that Kiran found didn’t have enough disruption. “It may seem upsetting that I’m not calling my pieces ‘gender neutral’. Whoever identifies with them can wear them, but I knit for menswear. I’m almost embarrassed by them, but I love knowing that Harry Styles or Siddharth Batra wouldn’t be afraid to style them and look supremely sophisticated” Meghana Kiran’s biggest gripe with menswear today is that it isn’t ‘fun’. As the creative brains behind emerging knitwear label bitchandtwosticks, Kiran always had a personal passion for textiles—one that took her on a creative path that started with a BA in menswear from Istituto Marangoni in Florence and subsequently saw her work on projects for luxury…

“WHEN WE SPOKE in February last year, the brand was in its first season. We have expanded with such speed since then,” says Kartik Kumra, swivelling in the same chair in his makeshift office-cum-bedroom as months before. Just over a year since he launched his label Karu Research in the middle of the pandemic, Kumra’s quilted jackets and ephemera—which began retailing at eight stores, including Mr Porter—can be found at an impressive 22 stores worldwide. And now, the founder of pandemic-born label Karu Research is fresh off his first showcase at Paris Menswear Fashion Week, which took place in January this year. Traditionally, designers have been known to protect the sanctity of their art as opposed to responding to the market, but for Kumra, charting the growth curve was all…

“I like things that last; clothes, cars, I like life that lasts. I know life is short, and I enjoy what I have” At first glance, Ralph Lauren’s high-rise head office on Manhattan’s Madison Avenue—a great big tower of glass and steel aggressively jutting skywards—doesn’t really tally with, well, Ralph Lauren. Until that is, the lift doors slide open on to the sixth floor and you’re immediately enveloped by what looks like Ralph Lauren’s flagship on Bond Street—all cosy and low-lit with wood-panelled walls, moody oil paintings, and love-worn leather sofas scattered with plaid cushions. They’ve even built a sweeping mahogany staircase into this modern skyscraper, to connect his design teams across its multiple floors. Along a wide corridor is Ralph Lauren’s office. It’s overwhelmingly cluttered with curios, so much so you…