Wednesday 7 August 2013

CLUE #1

Last week, the Andara girls headed East to Africa.  That is to say, we went to Brick Lane for Africa Fashion Week in London.  With everything we design made in India, the big question is why?  Well there is a change afoot at Andara HQ and this is CLUE #1.  

So, AFWL (to those in the know) is not what either of us had expected or hoped for.  However, although we left empty handed and utterly uninspired, it sure did make for a very entertaining day spent out of the office.  
















Thursday 2 May 2013

Project Renaissance

In celebration of their fifth anniversary, Vogue India orchestrated a unique collaboration between two worlds. They searched the whole of India to find the most exquisite handcrafted textiles and then invited some of the biggest international labels to use these textiles to create something inspiring, something momentous. The result was Project Renaissance.  

In the West today, a “Made in India” label would generally suggest a cheap mass produced good to most consumers and not an indication of master craftsmanship but many of the top international fashion brands use Indian craftsmen to create their most embellished designs.  

Project Renaissance gives us all an opportunity to see that in the deepest alcoves of rural India exists the most sophisticated weaving, printing and dying techniques. From the patola saris of Patan, the weaving patterns of the tribes of Nagaland, the excruciating labour of love it takes to tie millions of minuscule mustard seeds in silk to create breathtaking bandhini and tie-dye fabrics in Gujarat and Rajasthan, gold brocades from Benares, temple-bordered Kanchipuram silks from Tamil Nadu and fragile jamavars from Kashmir.














Images: Vogue India


Tuesday 16 April 2013

Destination of the Month

Our 'destination of the month' for April is in the state of Karnataka where we have stumbled across THE BISON RESORT.  

The first of its kind in India, The Bison offers the type of luxury safari adventure you would usually only find in Africa.  The camp is a stunning mix of safari chic and the colonial style of the Raj era and with a high density of wildlife, spotting tigers, leopards and elephants is a regular highlight. Expensive, but not bankrupting with tent prices starting from Rs5,250 per person per night (about £65), The Bison Resort has soared straight to the top of our India wish list.









Image credits: The Bison Resort