A single moment frozen in time is not memory, instead a memory is inclusion of impressions, sensations, and connections which remain intact even with the passing time. It is the sound and impression of the painting that you see in a quiet gallery, the vibrant sunlight that comes to the face cutting sharply from the wall, and the tale of melody which drives the emotional landscape of the heart. With /S25- My personal References, Absent Findings makes no attempt to hear those memories instead tend to live those moments through introspection. This body is not so much about trying to present complete statements but exposing the circumstances in which the brand was conceived, the personal, cultural, and sensory forces that played a role in informing the formative language of the brand.
Essentially, My Personal References forms the basis of the aesthetic vocabulary of the Absent Findings. The silhouettes, textures and color palettes are not random selection chosen on just a fine day but are extensions of memory and observation. The Creative Director takes the approach of design as a form of remembering the tales that stay in the mind and not the things that impress. What it achieved is a collection that is composed, restrained, and very deliberate.
Drape, Movement, and Inherited Form
The drape and materiality of sari is one of the biggest impacts. Instead of emulating its shape, the collection has imbibed its philosophy the manner in which fabric flows without structure, the manner it interacts with the body without restraining it and the manner in which softness and strength can exist together. This effect is manifested in loose forms, flowing shapes and a clothing that seems adjustive as opposed to prescriptive.
The collection has a sense of proportion and balance that is informed by the modernist heritage of Chandigarh by Le Corbusier, especially the Palace of Assembly. One can observe an architectural reserve in the manner in which pieces are constructed, where these are solid but bare, conscious yet transparent. Similar to the Chandigarh concrete buildings, the clothing is based on form, rhythm and scale instead of ornamentation to express presence.
The influence of cinema comes in with poetic realism of Pather Panchali by Satyajit Ray. The sensitivity of the film to the mundane life, its breaks, silence, emotional understating, is too intimate with the spirit of the collection. Wearings in this case do not dramatize an individual, but observe them. It gives room to the silent pieces, just like the movie can get something significant in an absence of action.
This emotional restraint is also implicated in the effect of the meditative paintings of Vasudeo S. Gaitonde. The collection is informed by its approach to surface and texture by his work, which is characterized by the subtle layering and meditative abstraction. Prints and finishes are atmospheric but not illustrative which keeps on implying to feel rather than represent form. They are open to interpretation, just as memory is open to interpretation.
When all these forces are combined, it emerges into the debut which reflects the restraint. My Personal References is not an attempt at validation by excessive means. It characterizes Absent Findings by silent power, lack of emotion and a desire to be a thoughtful designer with a lens to view clothing as a recollection of memory.
