31 August, 2022
It's no secret that I admire New Delhi-based conscious label 11.11/eleven eleven, having spoken and documented my love for their clothing on my social media platforms. My open bias for the brand rewarded me with a close friendship with Shani Himanshu, one of the founders. I discovered the countless ways in which Shani, along with co-founder Mia Morikawa, has taken a decade to establish a slow supply chain for the brand’s fashion and lifestyle range, which is based on many handmade and heritage traditions of India. My introduction to an indigenous variety of cotton called kala (a low-resource, aridly growing crop), khadi denims, NFCs (near field communications) and building slow processes in design has been through them.
But for their Autumn/Winter collection, 11.11/eleven eleven have pushed some of their own signatures to the next chapter
With chemical dyes being one of the most impactful pollutants in the business of fashion production today, 11.11/eleven eleven is a 100 per cent natural-dye lifestyle studio. But for their Autumn/Winter 2022 collection, they have pushed some of their own signatures to the next chapter. Most of us are used to seeing natural dyes as being earthy and having subtle or dull tones. But during a visit to their studio a few months ago, I was pleasantly surprised to see vibrant colour combinations—slightly glamorous with organic cotton velvets, slinky bias-cut dresses and their first-ever play with bias-cut, yarn-dyed checks in their collection. It felt like they were taking their learnings from a decade and going brighter, stronger, bolder, all within their highly responsible methodology.
As my luck would have it, they were happy to lend me some of their newly minted and sustainably designed styles from my holiday in Europe during the spring . I was stoked to collaborate with Art of Euphoria, a boutique design agency in Crete in Greece, co-founded by Linda Pappa and David Mourato, who are co-habitants of an emerging lifestyle of conscious living. It felt karmic to have them shoot me in 11.11/eleven eleven pieces. Following my return, I spoke to Shani Himanshu to shed some light on their Autumn/Winter collection, the new techniques and processes they used for the collection and their plan for the next decade when it comes to mindful design creation.
"We don't want people to buy our product just because it's sustainably made," says Shani Himanshu
A major difference in the upcoming collection is that the brand introduced new colours by experimenting with natural dyes
As a brand, we always keep looking for derivatives to work with certain indigenous crafts. For Autumn/Winter 2022, we have delved into the techniques of hand-painting and bandhani together. We are exploring a jugalbandi of techniques at different stages by combining hand-painting, screen-printing and bandhani. In terms of scale and proportions, we brought together bandhani with hand-painting and over-dyeing, which results in multiple layers within the artwork, and is evident in the outcome. It is significant to seek a new derivative, a new language. As artists, we are ever-ready to come up with something fresh without compromising on the core principles of 11.11/eleven eleven. A major difference in the upcoming collection [from the previous ones] is that we are introducing new colours by experimenting with natural dyes.
At 11.11/eleven eleven, there is an entire value chain that we are building from seed to stitch. Every day, we strive to dive deeper with each step. With every season, we are working towards bringing more transparency in the process, right from the cotton we use and the farmers we work with, to spinning, hand-weaving and natural dyeing. The same intensive procedures also exist with the different kinds of hand-woven craft techniques that we are introducing in the upcoming season, as well as the kind of embellishment involved, such as a bandhani effect or kantha work.
"We would like our customers to love our pieces visually at first, just like how you’d fall in love with a piece of art or a collectible," says Shani Himanshu
These processes are largely time-consuming–even if it is only hand-spinning–but with each season, we are refining them to gain a deeper understanding and clarity about the material we are working with. Of course, there are challenges that we face on an everyday basis but we resolve them as we grow, for it is a long-term goal, something one can achieve only in a year or two. For example, we are trying to work only with 100 per cent organic cotton and currently we have managed to have 60 per cent of organic cotton (in that some indigenous cotton) within our collection. We still have 40 per cent more to go. We are also in the process of identifying other types of indigenous cotton or organic cotton which have a longer staple so that we can make the rest of the collection out of them.
The 11.11/ eleven eleven consumer is anyone who likes the product we make using a jugalbandi of crafts on various silhouettes using natural hues and shades with different vibrancies. They are well-traveled, well-read and mindful of their surroundings to understand our brand philosophy. In the end, it's the language the product speaks to them. We don't want people to buy our product just because it's sustainably made. It needs to speak to them. We would like our customers to love it visually at first, just like how you’d fall in love with a piece of art or a collectible. Our customer base is wide and comes from various backgrounds; we have lawyers, artists, educators, activists, fashion designers, photographers and architects, among others, who enjoy wearing our garments.
The brand works on how to make slow fashion a part of today's lifestyle by developing different stories within each season
For Autumn/Winter 2022, the brand has delved into the techniques of hand-painting and bandhani together
We cannot expect our customers to understand the art of making clothes as we ourselves have taken time to develop an understanding. If the consumer is being conscious and questions their everyday lifestyle choice then they will start diving deeper. They could glean a lot of information from what we share on our website or social media platforms. So when there is an engagement between the brand and the consumers, they will eventually have a better understanding of natural dyes or the time-consuming processes for the developments that happen. Such engagements and conversations do take place with people who may wear 11.11/ eleven eleven for a day and I think that is how it should be; it is not important to understand everything.
At 11.11/ eleven eleven, we work on how to make slow fashion a part of today's lifestyle. We work on two different seasons [in a year] and within each season, we develop different stories. The focus, then, will be on a variety of stories which may overlap or come at different intervals during those six months for that season. As a brand, we are constantly working towards simplifying these processes. We do not need to have an elaborate collection every year. Our products are made slowly and thus we cannot fast-forward the procedure of product development. Even though one will see many collections launching, they are all pre-planned. We initiate the development process a year in advance and they keep coming during the season. It is the system design that we focus on and follow, keeping in mind the timeline of slow fashion.
“WITH EVERY SEASON, WE ARE WORKING TOWARDS BRINGING IN MORE TRANSPARENCY IN THE PROCESS, RIGHT FROM THE COTTON WE USE AND THE FARMERS WE WORK WITH, TO SPINNING, HAND- WEAVING AND NATURAL DYEING.”Shani Himanshu
This is an interesting question because I keep questioning the future of indigenous practices 20 years from now. For 11.11/ eleven eleven, in the next few years, it is important to learn from what we have planted in the last ten years, then multiply it and take it to the next level. We have worked a lot on our system design and our entire production set-up where we can multiply our strengths in order to grow. When we are doing something meaningful, it is important to grow to a certain number so that we can not only build a larger customer base but also create an impact on those involved in the process, either directly or indirectly. Another major milestone that we’ve reached in the past ten years and is also an ongoing process is a model of complete transparency. We have manually developed a unique code system and have now digitised it. We plan to launch the NFC and “know the maker” series where one will know through NFC patterns who are the makers behind every product.
We are trying to reduce and then cut the carbon footprint that we generate. We are in the process of building an ecosystem where these indigenous practices should thrive and younger designers can participate and showcase their creativity. Kala Khoj–an initiative by 11.11/eleven eleven–is a work-in-progress project which is co-owned by artisans, a place where the complete value chain from seed to stitch can be experienced. In my opinion, something of this sort should be developed in every state in India, which will let the craft practices thrive. This, according to me, is the strength of this country for the textile industry.
Image credits: 11.11/eleven eleven Autumn/ Winter 2022 Collection (@1111clothing). Creative Direction / Model - Ekta Rajani (@eksters). Photography - Art of Euphoria (@artofeuphoria_ )