Designer Anjali Phougat presented her collection at New York Fashion Week recently. She gave it an interesting theme called “Aarohan Adhyay” and revealed, “It is interesting because it resonates with my personal spiritual awakening journey, where, after 40, I had more interest in spirituality.”
She shared that she started to feel spiritually more aligned, and said, “The theme itself says ascension right before your awakening; you see the bright light inside you. There’s a phase called the dark night of the soul, where you face hardship and difficulties. I feel difficulties help you build your resilience. I tried to portray the dark night of the soul by putting on all the black pieces. I tried to narrate that story visually about the dark night of a soul.”
“The dark phase is very deep, where you search for answers outside, and when you sit down in silence during that dark phase, you understand that you have everything within you. You just need that moment of quiet and looking within yourself before you enter that enlightenment and light phase. That’s how I portrayed some colors towards the end of the show. If you see, the showstopper is all gold and silver. The light is coming; the ray of hope is coming towards the end of the dark night of the soul journey,” she added.
The show was received well, and Anjali couldn’t be happier. “I just have gratitude. I feel that it’s all divine blessings. It’s about the way you see and receive things. So I see things in a positive manner, and then the output is always positive. So I feel nothing but gratitude.“
But how do you deal with criticism? “Criticism is important. If you look at a rose, you can see how beautiful it is, but a rose has thorns. Thorns are needed to protect the rose. When you face hardships, difficulties, and criticism, you grow. You look for the solution to a problem, and that’s the most beautiful phase because, without criticism, there is no growth. I always look forward to the feedback, and I feel there’s scope for improvement in every show. Otherwise, what is the inspiration for doing so many shows, creating so many collections? Because there is a scope for improvement, there is a scope for adding newness to my art. So, yes, criticism is important as long as it is taken in a positive direction or positive light,” she said.
Anjali confessed that with age, she is learning new things, and simultaneously, her design is also evolving. She added, “My designs are getting better. It’s getting more refined, more polished, better over the age and over time. And we are evolving with the betterment of our brand and aesthetic.”
She also shared that for every show she comes up with a different theme, and the inspirations are her surroundings, nature, and everyday scenarios. “I try to come up with a beautiful message. Problem-solving is the approach because everyone is designing themed fashion. If you look at Indian fashion couture, it’s too advanced in India, and people are just creating designs. But I feel that vision is essential. Giving a message to design and portraying your brand value is also very important. So any design I create, there is a vision behind it, there’s a story behind it, there is a personal touch of love and emotion behind my designs.”
So what’s next? “There’s a lot. I’m all set to showcase at the Cannes festival, Milan Fashion Week, Dubai Fashion Week, Lakme India Fashion Week, and then New York in September. Of course, because I do launch twice a year in New York
And in between all these things, I’ll be launching my bridal segment. Some music videos are in the pipeline, so there is a lot on my plate. And as I said, I would like to wrap up this interview with gratitude. I’m grateful to each member of my team. Otherwise, I’m just a tiny particle of nature, and I am doing what brings joy and happiness to my soul. And that’s the most important thing. So I am just thankful and grateful,” she ended.
