The Designer
Harsh Agarwal of HARAGO, as a child, was someone who would throw tantrums when things weren’t aesthetically aligned. He vividly recalls throwing away cushion covers out on the streets when he was merely five. In another instance, he disposed of an old music system because of its multiple wires. Eventually, the tantrums came to an end and he deeply cultivated his sense of visual aesthetics. Things took a turn during university, since he went on to major in Economics and work on solar energy projects for a living. For someone who was always creatively inclined and had developed a particular interest in textiles and craftsmanship, it was a rather obvious decision to take the plunge, away from business, and towards fashion.
Talking about HARAGO, he adds, ‘I once visited Telangana and sourced this beautiful emerald green fabric, woven in a very minimal ikat pattern. I bought it and later made a jacket out of it. Similarly, I visited a village called Tarapur in Madhya Pradesh with my nani. I explored the block printing process there and later made shirts from the fabric bought. This way I had been collecting and filling my trunk with many fabrics from various parts of India. In January 2019, I realised that I had fabrics which had been with me for a while and it was time to do something with them. I combined my understanding of sustainability and passion for design, started meeting the craftspeople and understood the nuances of their craftsmanship deeply. Around six months later, I unveiled my first collection.’
The Label
Harsh wasn’t initially convinced about sustainability in fashion, which led him to engage in several conversations about the topic, during a work conference in New York. Post this, he made his way back to the country and travelled all across to engage with the craftsmen and their perspectives. He explains, ‘I observed various craftsmanship techniques rooted in the traditional culture, like, handloom weaving, tie-dye, applique, block printing and chikankari, amongst others. I was deeply inspired, which made me dive in, without the professional know-how.’ Research led Harsh to the startling conclusion that menswear didn’t make enough use of the craftsmanship in the country. This led to the conception of HARAGO. He continues, ‘I had to face several challenges in the beginning, but those proved to be stepping stones for something bigger. I did not understand the technical textile constructions or technical pattern-making of the clothes. I gave myself time and learned everything from the artisans themselves, one–on-one, travelling and meeting the weavers directly.’
The designer’s own beliefs about the relationship between a designer and artisan reflect on the brand’s ethics. He is someone who works with the craftspeople intimately. ’We visit weavers’ and embroiderers’ homes, sit with them, eat with them, spend the full day with them, seeing their home, how they have organised it, what work they have developed so far, and talk to them about their generational experience. They share their technique specific knowledge with us and then we share with them how we see a certain fabric metamorphosing into a garment that will have a certain value in the global market. It is all a collaborative process. The craftspeople are equally the designers,’ explains Harsh. These beliefs form the foundation of their policies, to pay the tailors their worth, rather than mass producing and then selling at markdowns to make up for the losses incurred, thus ignoring the artisanal communities in the entire process.
The Process
HARAGO’s process is extremely unique and truly their own. Harsh doesn’t believe in following trends, in terms of colour, silhouette, fabrics or construction. Their model focuses on customer satisfaction. They’ve had instances where sharing fabric images has led to an overwhelming response for custom designs. He breaks it down, ‘This actually made me realise that it’s best to listen to customers and offer them whatever it is that they want. Our process also involves a deep connection with the craftspersons. It starts with meeting and observing their skills. That inspires me to think of what I can do with the fabric, how I can make clothing out of it, what kind of designs will work and which won’t. Knowing the craftspeople and learning about their craft is the first stage for design brainstorming. I love it. Furthermore I am inspired by menswear classics and like to play around with proportions and detailing to create contemporary pieces.’
The Pandemic and Beyond
The lockdown ended up posing a scary situation for team HARAGO. They had multiple plans to travel and showcase their collections to varied agencies, pitch to a few stores in the U.S. and Europe, and participate in the markets. In March, all of it came to a halt. They were shut for 102 days, which negatively impacted the weavers and tailors due to a lack of production. Daily survival became difficult in terms of paying for the rent of the studio space, the salaries, some order cancellations and delayed payments from clients. However, Harsh’s hope never wavered. His resilience kept things afloat as the team started devising a new model for the future.
The one person who he credits for his renewed zeal is his maternal grandmother. He elucidates, ‘I would say my nani has quite a major role to play in pushing me to rethink about the brand's path going forward, shaping my vision. She helped me be in sync with nature. She would take me to the farm, we would pluck sal leaves together, bring them home, wash them and then make plates and bowls using the twigs out of those sal leaves. Through this, she meant to share the cultural value of that particular craft and the value of natural resources. She told me, ‘it is very important for us to have a keen ear to listen to our Earth.’’
HARAGO’s upcoming vintage collection is inspired by the trunk full of fabrics stored by his mother and grandmothers. Each piece of their textile has a story to tell. These narratives were enough to inspire Harsh in the direction of an up-cycled collection. What is in works now is a collection formed using vintage textiles, collected from friends and family, that will embody nostalgia and past memories. The label is further engaging in training their weavers and tailors with the design skill and sensibility to repair and mend the worn, old and torn clothes, to lend them a novelty they never possessed before. This service on the side, will be a part of the current business model as they adapt to the pandemic.
For someone who moved to the creative field exploring the concept of sustainability, Harsh has very succinct thoughts when it comes to the concept. He doesn’t believe fashion can ever be completely sustainable, nor does he claim that HARAGO is a sustainable label. Talking about the label’s understanding of the term, he explains, ‘No one wants to go that extra mile to actually understand the idea of sustainability. Sustainability is just a word for judicious use of resources and it can be done in a thousand different ways. For us sustainability is protecting, promoting and innovating ancient textile techniques, sharing the cultural value of the craftsmanship with our customers or by simply using earth based mediums wherever possible in our day to day business, or the way our studio operates. For us, the element of craftsmanship is important and being able to generate work for the craftspeople, so that they do not have to go out in the cities looking for other employment opportunities.’
Text Unnati Saini