DESIGN PHILOSOPHY
SHANDANA’s design philosophy is based on a multidisciplinary approach where she uses concepts and skills from fields as diverse as traditional crafts, science, technology, fine art, and literature to create meaningful work using innovative experimental processes and new sustainable materials.
MEANINGFUL
Photography: CAMELLEON.PHOTO, Model: DOMINICA
SHANDANA creates meaningful fashion in an effort to raise fashion beyond the superficial and to infuse higher aesthetics and intellectual sensibility in design that adds substance to style and speaks to an intelligent clientele.SHANDANA sees her craft as both a form of self-expression and an instrument of change. She, therefore, employs it to actively engage with dynamic socio-political, environmental, and cultural terrain surrounding her.By questioning and commenting on significant matters such as identity, freedom of expression, social hierarchy, and environment, she tries to actively engage in the discourse about the future of humanity and the planet. Her oeuvre frequently encompasses concepts derived from her literary explorations, incorporating poetry fragments or citations from her readings. Words or text occupy a vital place in her repertoire, which she deftly integrates with her innovative materials to produce intellectually stimulating pieces of art.
This collection is inspired by Wang Ping’s poem ‘Things we carry on the sea’ that highlights the trials and tribulations of refugees crossing the sea.
Icarus- Body Sculpture featuring a poem attributed to Oscar Wilde
“IN THE BLANK SPACE BETWEEN THE FOLLOWING DAY AND THE PREVIOUS NIGHT, YOU SEE THE BEAUTY OF A PROPELLER, FOR INSTANCE, AND THINK, YES. I WANT THAT SILVER METAL TO MEAN SOMETHING MORE THAN JUST FLIGHT.”
Breast Plate commenting upon SHANDANA’s hybrid identity as an immigrant. The title is based on a book by China Mieville, ‘The City and The City’
INNOVATIVE
Photography: KEITH MITCHELL, Model&MUA: KLAUDIA LUKASINKA
From new sustainable materials, that she develops herself, to disruptive production process such as sculpting clothing instead of sewing them, innovation is front and centre at SHANDANA’s creative framework. Using concepts and skills from an array of diverse fields, including engineering, technology, physics, chemistry, literature, and fine art, SHANDANA has developed a unique design philosophy that is based on a multidisciplinary approach, where she seamlessly blends science and art to create avant-garde pieces that defy convention and which are only possible with such cross pollination of ideas and skills.
Click HERE how see how SHANDANA uses state-of-the-art technology and engineering in her work.
Fashion, for SHANDANA, is not much different from doing her PhD. It’s a process of scientific exploration, that engages a complex set of intellectual, aesthetic, and emotional resources, and produces an output that makes one think, not just about what is, but what can be.
““ THE MATERIALS USED, DESIGN, AND PRODUCTION PROCESSES EMPLOYED, ARE ALL PART OF AN ENJOYABLE DANCE OF CREATION..
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PHOTOGRAPHY:CAMELLEON.PHOTO, MODELS: CLARICE FURNISS, GOERGE HONNOR, ASSISTANT: SWATHI MUKUNDAN
SUSTAINABLE
SHANDANA believes that it is the responsibility of the designer to engage with the wider socio-political and environmental landscape. That is why her future-oriented business practice takes into account her environmental footprint. Unable to find eco-friendly alternatives to her signature material, resin, SHANDANA set out to develop her own. Her efforts have culminated in developing biomaterials that look and feel almost like resin (though nowhere near as tough) but are entirely free of anything harmful. Most often she employs food waste and kitchen ingredients in developing the biomaterials.
SHANDANA also creates modular designs such as her body plates and headpieces that makes use of magnetic placements that enable clients to switch from one look to another without purchasing an entirely new piece.
Click to see a process video of bio-materials by SHANDANA
Bioplastic Headpiece. Model- TASHA LAWER, Photography - FIONA MILLINGTON, MUA - TASHA LAWER
Innovation and sustainability are also embedded in SHANDANA’s unconventional business model. Unlike most milliners and designers, She does not follow the millinery/fashion calendar of producing two or more collections a year. Instead she focuses on creating highly nuanced and avant-garde headwear that her clients purchase as works of wearable art, thereby tackling overproduction, making a conscious effort to develop an environmentally and financially feasible business practice.
Photography: CAMELLEON.PHOTO, Model: GEORGE HONNOR, Assistant: SWATHI MUKUNDAN