Textile artist Yash Patil graduated from NIFT, Bengaluru with a specialisation in Knitwear Design. A self-admitted vintage enthusiast, he finds himself excited and inspired by all kinds of objects, textiles and architecture belonging to the bygone eras. Yash prefers to go by the moniker of an artist and likes to indulge and experiment with not only textiles but also jewellery and art. He essentially believes in constructing wearable art and blurring the boundaries between art and fashion. He grew up in a nuclear family in Pune wherein handwoven fabrics were a part of his mundane routine. Watching his grandmother adorn herself in mogras, pearls and nine yards of traditional chanderi was his favourite activity and he finds himself going back to such visuals for inspiration.
Yash tells us all about his practice, his first memory of textiles and more.
Early Memories
My summer holidays would consist of an expedition to our old ancestral home, and those tucked away dark, locked rooms in the corner of the house would always excite me. They were always considered as store rooms, full of things no longer in use, considered old and not anymore in ‘fashion’. So when I got a chance to finally open one of these it took me to a world I’d never imagined existed. It was full of dated furniture, larger than life sized brass utensils, piles of newspapers and bahis (old, hand-bound, fabric-covered ledgers) along with old rusty tin and wooden chests, each full of things, tucked away for decades — textiles, photographs, letters and daily objects with great detailing that were no more in use. This opened me to a world where art, along with functionality, played such an important part of everyday lifestyle. How design was prevalent in each and every object, from as simple as a comb, surma daani (kohl container), ittar daani (perfume bottles) to even a lota, everything adorned and handmade, that has lasted for decades and are now nothing but works of art.
The era of maximalism, balanced and not eye-itching. I just wanted to live that life, be a part of it, enjoy it, cherish it. That always remained at the back of my mind but I’d never imagined that I'd be able to make a career out of it. Then, NIFT happened, all very unplanned, unexpected. And now I’m finally able to pursue it and practice it through my art.
The Inspiration
Archives. Everything from the past along with what’s happening around at the moment gives me inspiration to amalgamate them and create new pieces. I’ve been collecting textiles, objects and all things vintage for a while now, and they always act as sources of inspiration for me on any dull day. For instance, vintage textiles for the stories they embody, and surface, weaves, colour play. Even their decay. A particular photograph for its structure and colours, objects for their shapes and detailing, various metals and their varied properties, architecture and its decrepitude. The photographs and cultures from undivided India, works and oleographs of Raja Ravi Verma, commissioned portraits from the Victorian era. Works of Yayoi Kusama.
Free Play with Textiles
Moulding and building using textile excites me the most. The fact that each and every textile has different properties gives me endless ways of working with them. It doesn’t necessarily have to be just handwoven textiles, but any fabric for that matter. I’d work with knitted fabrics and create three-dimensional structures, which won’t really work with other forms of textiles. In the end, it’s about understanding the properties and further building on them. Creating tactile surfaces, layering and surface adornment always remain an exciting part and is a major basis for most of my projects, where enough time is also invested in the same.
The Process
It all starts with an inspiration, in most cases the archives. It gives me the opportunity to understand what’s happened along the timeline, in a particular era, what was lost along the way and how it can be interpreted and moulded according to the current world we stay in. This helps me in creating a new combination, an imagination, of something surreal, which still has its roots in the rich past.
I’d then further build on developing surfaces and textiles, alongside silhouette development, leading to pattern making, draping and endless mocks, giving me an idea of what’s possible and functional. Once the drape, silhouette and surface is finalised, it’s time to make a final piece. Also, the process doesn’t necessarily have to flow in a particular manner in each project. Sometimes it could be a textile or a surface I create that leads me to develop an entire new project out of it.
The Fashion of Now
I feel that the fashion of now should be more diverse, acceptable, handmade — it should be a good balance of everything. One doesn’t have to follow a rule book to be accepted as fashionable. It should speak for the person wearing it and not be something that’s mass produced, shipped across continents and fits in the world wide accepted ‘trend’ scenario, which is making us all look like nothing but clones.
Text Unnati Saini
Date 26-10-2021