Armourage
FW 2017
Look Book: Saaksha and Kinni AW 17
This season, the starting point of our story comes from the idea of equipping a woman with everything she needs on her journey to self-discovery. This is the woman who finds herself going back to the life and times of the likes of Tomoe Gozen – the 12th century warrior woman who slashed her way to samurai stardom – and other historical badasses who knew exactly how to match grace with grit, delicacy with deadly, and tenderness with temerity.
This is the woman who is aware of her strength and treats her clothing as armour –
psychological or otherwise – that makes sure her private stash of courage, individuality, and
self-assuredness never runs dry.
Like with all of Saaksha & Kinni’s designs, Armourage works hard to bring out the dualities that exist in each of us. There is a feminine delicacy in the signature badla work but when it takes on a geometric grid-like pattern, its masculine energies come into play. A detailed look into the battle-ready embroideries reveals intricate zardozi and dulled metal sheets that carry time-proof resilience. As you run your hands over the antique stones embedded in the designs, you feel that roughness, that toughness leap at you.
The Armourage woman is clearly ready to rumble in tough silhouettes (hello, boyfriend jacket, trench coats, and vests) but equally unafraid to pair these with billowy, flowy pieces that mimic her autonomous state of mind. She loves the burst of warmth and spirit that florals come with, but here, they take on a dramatically ethereal, noir spirit. The strong shoulders and no-nonsense stripes put a subversive spin on power dressing by happily mingling with the rampant micro-pleating that pumps in that timeless feminine charm. The romance of chiffon and chanderi meets the ferocity of raw silk. In terms of the palette, passionate reds and enigmatic blacks are complemented by the calmness of blues and freshness of greens.
With Armourage, there is a stripping away of the connotation that something sexy requires much of the female body to be bared. The creations here prioritise the individual and her needs over the clichés of female role play. They understand the vitality of understated glamour but more importantly, they understand why you need to carry on the legacy of the original heroines who were absolutely unstoppable, with a little help from their armour.
DB Styles 