Glorious Saris of Gerrard Street

Chayonika Wornette talks about traditional saris and the colourful culture of India with the owner of Chandan Fashion

By: Chayonika Chandra

When I walked into Chandan Fashion, an Indian boutique in the heart of Little India, a warm, familiar feeling seeped into me. The sweet smell of burning incense mixed with the tangy spices of butter chicken, the hustle bustle of boutique workers, the blur of vivid colours; it all reminded me of my childhood in Delhi, with its smoke-filled air and the busy streets. The owner Sarab Singh reminded me of my grandmother, who used to dress me up in her saris when I was a toddler. Singh and her husband have been in the retail business for over 25 years, dealing with intricate, traditional Indian clothing.

Before I left, she wrapped me up in a gorgeous purple and gold sari and told me to come back any time I wanted. I felt at home.

How did you get into the business of selling saris?
My husband had the same kind of business back home so when we came to Canada, we decided to start the same business.

How has your mother influenced your dressing style?
I am from the east of India so that’s their culture, hence, I wore most of the normal styles they wore. When I was in Grade 10, I remember, I used to get really excited when my mother let me wear saris. I even wore one to my graduation. It used to be a big deal to wear saris and it was very exciting for me, you know?

How do you wear you saris?
I use a lot of pins inside to hold them together from the starting point to the end. When I make the pleats, I make sure to put a nice pin in to hold the pleats together. I put another pin on my shoulder to attach the beginning of the train to my blouse so that my hands are free.

What are some of the materials used to make saris?
A lot of different materials can be used: silk, polyester, nylon, rayon, cotton, all manufactured in India. I prefer georgette because this material pleats better, and silk is nice for special occasions and parties.

Do you like how the saris used in Bollywood movies nowadays have a lot of sex appeal, or do you prefer other styles?
I prefer regular, old, traditional saris because they are evergreen and will never go out of fashion. Simple styles are the best. But sexy or modern styles or saris will only be trendy for a few months or a few years before something new comes out again, and the style that is current will go out of fashion. Maybe my age is a big factor as well. That is probably why I like simple saris. My style has also been passed onto my 21 year old daughter. She wears saris and looks very nice in them. I would definitely pick classy saris over fancy ones.

So, do you think modern generations are into saris?
Modern generations are definitely into saris, yes. I sell a lot of saris to younger generations. I even sell them for prom. As soon as it’s prom season, I put all my sari-inspired pieces out on display. My daughter went to a private high school and wore a really pretty sari for her own prom.

Do you have a lot of non-Indian customers?
Toronto is a very diverse, cosmopolitan city, so I definitely have a wide variety of customers who buy traditional clothing from me. I think my customers find it a little dressy. They like to wear saris because they think they’re vibrant. They say, “We are tired of monotone colours all the time.” They think we have a very colourful selection of saris, which is completely true. All the different colours we have on our saris complement each other and never look tacky. It is our culture. People wear them to special occasions and weddings. I once had a lady from Jamaica come into my store and she wanted to wear something traditional for her own wedding. She wanted to buy a traditional lehenga and I custom ordered it for her from India. It was a gorgeous, hand-beaded, white lehenga, custom fitted to her size. And after the wedding, she brought in some pictures and said, “This is your lehenga. Thanks for making me look so stunning.” She definitely got a lot of compliments which made me really happy. Indian clothing is definitely becoming more popular all around the world. I realize that India is a third world country and the bad parts of the country are always highlighted. But now, I think that India is waking up and is definitely better than before. I think traditional clothing lets people escape from the bad parts and focus on how vivid and rich our country really is. If you have money in your pocket, come with me and I will show you all the good parts of India.

photography // Laura Tuttle

Paging Judy Jetson

Crushing on 3D jewelry printers Hot Pop Factory

By: Hillary Predko

Three-dimensional printing may seem more akin to sci-fi conventions than fashion ateliers—Makerbot did call their newest machine “The Replicator” after all. But for industrial design and architecture students, 3D printers and computer-aided design (CAD) modeling make up a big part of their curriculum. A lot like a regular paper printer, 3D printers read information from a computer, then translate it into something you can touch. These just have one more axis and some super hot melted plastic. But this time, architects Biying and Matt have applied their keen sense of geometry and form to something a little smaller: they design and print jewelry pieces from their Toronto apartment under the moniker Hot Pop Factory. They talk to WORN about their process and the dichotomy of small scale digital production in the handmade world.

With backgrounds in architecture, your skills lend themselves both to 3D modelling and thus printing. Why did you choose to make jewelry objects?
Jewelry and architecture operate at vastly different scales, and yet, fundamentally, they are both about establishing relationships with the human body. For us, this was an amazing opportunity to apply our skill at creating space and form at an extremely intimate scale. We found the kind of connection that a person has with jewelry is much more personal and immediate. Contrasting our experience in architecture, designing at this individualized scale can help shape personal identity and style in a way that has been very rewarding for us.

What inspires the forms you use?
For our initial foray into 3D printing, we drew inspiration from the fabrication process itself. We wanted to establish a deep understanding of the technology, both in terms of the opportunities it affords in the creation of novel forms and also in the terms of the wider social and cultural implications. Our first collection, Strarigraphia, which, as the name implies, is about this stratification of many layers, seeks to uncover the inherent beauty of the additive manufacturing process and at the same time evoke the accretion of knowledge and sharing of resources that are prevalent in the wider maker community.

What does your design process look like?
While working on architectural projects, one is always limited to iterating their work through forms of representation: sketches, models, drawings. For our jewelry collection, this process was radically changed through the use of the 3D printer. We were able to touch, feel, and wear every iteration of our design from the very start of the project. This resulted in a design process that was essentially a litany of ever evolving prototypes. Each generation accumulated several small changes which were ultimately reflected in the final product, this allowed us to create highly personal and evocative objects which was the ultimate goal of our work.

You sell your work at craft shows and on Etsy. Do you see a distinction between “handmade” crafts and batch 3D printed work?
Digital design and fabrication technologies are merely tools in what is ultimately an artisanal process. There is an art form that is developed in how they are finessed and manipulated to fulfill a design vision. Like in any other craft, they can be used more or less successfully depending on the talent and experience of the artisan. In this respect, there is a striking resemblance between the way we design and fabricate our work and more traditional handicrafts. Ultimately, the biggest difference might be that, due to the digital nature of our work, there is the opportunity for it to be shared and modified freely among many artisans allowing it to become a platform for other creative works instead of a singular object.

Where do you see digital fabrication technologies fitting into the world of fashion manufacturing at large?
It’s difficult to pin down where this is all going so early on. I think the most prominent and exciting feature of this technology is how it radically lowers the barriers to entry in the creation of physical objects. This means that many fresh innovations will begin to arise from unexpected places. We will no longer be boxed into the role of “consumer” but will all have the opportunity to be the author of the objects that define us. This whole process will be compounded by the fact that all of this knowledge and work can be shared freely over the internet due to its digital form.

Any plans for large scale Iris Van Herpen statement pieces in the future?
Yes. Iris Van Herpen is a huge inspiration for us in that she uses rapid prototyping of unconventional materials to dress the body. Like Van Herpen, we are very interested in the intersection between traditional fabrication techniques and rapid prototyping technologies. Currently, we are experimenting with creating textiles with our 3D printer—a spin on chain mail structures. The idea is to design printable modules with its individual links already interlaced. This process allows us to create extremely intricate designs computationally, and produce those designs with more precision and less time.

What jewelry inspires you?
We love Kate Cusack’s zipper necklaces; she is a great example of an artist who has really mastered her medium and material. We also covet the bold use of elemental materials and clean lines in Mimi Jung’s Brook and Lyn Jewelry. In the 3D printed jewelry world, we love Michiel Cornelissen‘s coin necklace, which is a great example of the kind of innovation and unique vision that can rise from jewelry created with a digital fabrication approach.

video // Daniel Reis
photography // Laura Tuttle

The Sweetest Thing

Crushing on Montreal designer Betina Lou

By: Sacha Jackson

Looking at Montreal designer Marie-Eve Emond’s line, Betina Lou, you’d never guess she spent her formative years working with sequins and prom dresses. Simple, sophisticated and easy-to-wear, her work marries classic styles with whimsical detailing—a shift dress with plaid Peter Pan collar, a polka dot camisole with button detailing.

Originally from Chicoutimi in northern Quebec, Emond started Betina Lou (“It’s more memorable than Marie-Eve”) in 2009, having worked in the industry since her early teens; and her experience shows. Taking cues from Audrey Hepburn’s foolish and elegant style (like the iconic actress, Emond has a diminutive frame and striking eyebrows), the country’s contrary climate and missing links in her own wardrobe, Emond has grown Betina Lou into a locally made reliably stylish label.

WORN visited the designer at her warehouse studio in Montreal’s Mile End to talk fashion business know-how and showing at Montreal Fashion Week.

How did you get interested in fashion?
I started at a very young age. My grandmother made clothing for the family and she gave me fabric to play with; that’s really when my interest started. Then I studied fashion design. But, actually, before that I was sewing costumes for a dance show in my hometown. For four summers my job was assisting, sewing on feathers and sequins for Moulin Rouge-type of costumes. That really confirmed that I wanted to do this.

Wow! That’s quite the production.
It was a cabaret show, dinner theatre. There were four or five shows a week for the whole summer. At the beginning I thought maybe I could be a costume designer but I realized that I’m not into flashy things or bright colours—what I do is really wearable and simple, everything is there but not too much, it’s in the details—I don’t think I would’ve been able to create such extravagant clothing! Then I got my BA in fashion design at UQAM and worked at different places. I was an assistant designer at a place where we made prom dresses, which wasn’t really my style either! [laughs]. Then I worked at Mackage for six years; I learned a lot, everything from marketing to international trade.

Did you always know you wanted to have your own line?
Yes! [laughs] Okay, maybe not that clear, but I always wanted to be my own boss and have my own company. When you start it never stops and you don’t have time to say, “Where do I find a supplier?” “Where do I find buttons?” I wanted the experience first.

Were you nervous about starting your own business?
Not nervous—excited. It was natural, because I had planned it for a long time. At the launch, maybe then I was a little nervous. And the first time you put pictures on Facebook and you say, ‘Okay, that’s it! That’s what I was doing for six months!’”

You just showed your first collection at Montreal Fashion Week. What was that like?
It was a lot of work! We don’t have extra time—it’s always busy—so adding that on top was a lot of work. It wasn’t my first time because I’d worked on fashion week for different companies, fortunately. There are a lot of things to know, like how to run a casting, how to plan the stylist, public relations, who’s going to be sitting where, the music—lots of little details. There are many things I prefer doing than a fashion show—I like to be in the studio, making clothes—but it went well.

A few local designers show every season, would you do it again?
It’s never really been something that I wanted to do. This time I was selected by a committee to show, so that was flattering. I thought that now people would know the line; it was a good time to do it. But it’s not spectacular. It’s not really worth having people come and making such a big show of such simple, wearable clothing. I think there are other designers who do things that are more appropriate.

How was the feedback? Did you read the reviews?
There were a lot of reviews. I wasn’t nervous about them because, especially in Montreal, if they don’t like it they just don’t mention you. And if they talk about you, it’s positive.

As a designer, would you be happy if there were more criticism? If you put something out there and got a harsh critique would it make you think, ‘Okay, this is something I can work on’?
It would be hard because we work so hard and we’re not used to it because there is never any criticism or negative reviews. Sometimes there are negative reviews on fashion week as a whole, or on the selection of designers who showed but I don’t know if it’s a problem. But in music and film you have negative reviews all the time. We don’t get 5 stars or 3 stars—it’s always ‘Wow!’ People find what they like.

Have you seen the Montreal industry change over the years?
There are more designers and, I feel, a lot of collaborations between designers. It goes by ‘cohorts.’ If you launch at the same time you support each other. The younger designers I know because I’m interested and I follow them. I go to Fashion Pop every year and I try to see what’s new and what’s going on. Sometimes, a few years after [young designers] launch, you don’t see them anymore because they were too eager to start, but they’re going to go into the industry and come back later.

Is there anyone working in Montreal who you think is doing something different?
I like Atelier B., they’re really dynamic with the store and the mailing list and the events they do. They always seem to be able to do so many things at the same time and do them well. I like some brands who aren’t really considered “designers” like Naked and Famous, who are really selling well, and have a great product. We don’t talk about them too often here in Montreal but they are so well known everywhere.

photography // Allison Staton

Dozens of Ribbons

Swapnaa Tamhane talks to us about what it's like to dress like an artist

By: Charlotte D'Arcy

Most of Swpanaa Tamhane’s art happens in front of a crowd: she’s spent hours in a Plexiglas box with partner Aman Sandhu, performed “duration” drawings in empty retail spaces and installed dozens of ribbons in front of the MOCCA, inviting viewers to come up and tie knots for an evening. The artists puts a lot of thought in how she should dress for these performances — with this attention to detail often crossing over into her day-to-day attire. I sat down with Swapnaa to talk about the differences between performance art and fashion, what she wears to the studio, and her impeding move to Düsseldorf.

What’s the best fashion advice you ever got from your mom?
She taught me about being classic, elegant, and that nothing is more feminine than a sari. She also taught me to disdain vanity.

What did you dress like when you were younger?
In high school, I used to wear oversized concert t-shirts to cover myself. Understanding these bodacious curves took some time. In university it was black turtleneck, black sweater, and jeans. There was a sea of people who dressed like that – girls and guys – who all matched. So you’d come in for an 8am lecture and some girls were really done up and some were…just half asleep. But still everyone was in black, and then jeans and big boots and huge jackets.

How does being an artist inform your fashion choices?
I think most of this year I was wearing Blundstones, a pair of jeans and a big sweater. Who am I dressing up for to go to the studio? I’m going to be making a mess or building shit so I didn’t even think about it. And you almost loose your sense of pretty because then you’re just this human who’s working. So some mornings I really want to look nice just to socialize a little bit. But most of the year is just like this army jacket and boots.

For three of your most recent installation pieces, How to Draw a Drawing, Three, and We Don’t Know What this Conversation is Going to Make, you and your partner Aman Sandhu are active participants. How does dress come into play during these performances?
There always comes this moment of oh shit we have to decide what we’re going to be wearing. So we always end up going for something that’s totally non-descript. We would love to do something really theatrical, but does that effect the work? Those are the kind of conversations we have.

One of the first performances that we did at Summer Works, I made this nose jewelry piece that was sort of a Rajasthani nose ring. I took two earrings and just hung these five chains between them. I loved it, but I was looking back at the images later and thought, what’s the point? It looks way too decorative.

So why do you think you wore it?
We were treating ourselves almost as machines, thinking of ourselves as these kinds of warriors, so that’s why I had this idea of the nosepiece. We were thinking of decorative armbands and jewelry. It’s actually really uncomfortable to be in a performance, and considering “what to wear” is an aspect that I find myself hating to think about. I think it takes a certain personality as well that can be confident in wearing an outrageous outfit! I guess it depends on the artist you are or want to be, and of course, the kind of art you make.

Fashion and performance art are both very interactive art forms. How do you think they can overlap?
I’ve only started thinking about performance art in the last two years as an artist, otherwise I like to just hide away in my studio and make these very detailed drawings. So putting myself into the public eye is actually really disconcerting. It’s really a strange space because I’m still negotiating how those things go together.

I love looking at really performative fashion. I remember seeing these images when I was a teenager in a fashion magazine and I think it was the model Kristin McMenamy. She had this great big tree branch dress. I had never seen anything like that, and was like, that’s amazing. If you’ve ever been to a fashion show it’s very performative, that’s definitely one side of performance. The side that I’m on is almost thinking of myself as part of the mechanics of presenting something, presenting an idea. So in that role of performance there should be none of me. Hence the kind of black outfit, which is super boring, but I think it’s really important. There shouldn’t be any distraction.

What overlap is there between your approach to art and your approach to day-to-day dress?
I wore this shirt today. I got this over at Fawn. I love something like this. Very, very simple, doesn’t look fancy, I like really minimal but with little nuances. I might add big earrings, and then something slightly decorative or “Indian.” Just small little details, but nothing too heavy handed.

Definitely with performance art, but also with drawing, it is all about the details. I like to think about things as composition building, like building an image. I like to think about that with clothing also. That you can build colours or build a small little line or something that can be drawn back to something else that you’re doing.

You’re about to move to Düsseldorf, what item of clothing can you not leave without?
I have this really old ratty Dupatta that is like my safety blanket. It’s an army green that has this beautiful black design. I’ve had it for years, it’s tearing, but I love it.

photography // Brianne Burnell