Nandni Agarwal

“After Nature” is a five-outfit collection that discusses the body beyond the recognition of what is considered natural. The collection uses unnatural materials such as acrylic sheets, metal, and homegrown vegan leather to further emphasize the message. This collection discusses decolonization from the perspective of the colonized and the ostracized, how one uses tattoos and piercings to rebel against the “accepted” or the “normal” societies. It is a combination of Indian tribal cultures that are often ostracized and the Victorian British and modern Indian societies. The collection juxtaposes these societies together by mixing tribal tattoo and piercing cultures with Indian traditional and British Victorian wear silhouettes. Sustainability also plays an important role in this collection as all the raw materials used will be produced only in the amount needed through the use of laser cutters, recycling scrap fabrics, and growing vegan leather. To sum it up, the ethos of this collection is decolonization and sustainability through the blending of two cultures that do not belong together and where one was colonized by the other and, using unconventional materials to create avant-garde looks to further emphasize the point of “body beyond the recognition of what is natural.”