Himanshu and Rathore’s Kutch inspired designs

Designers Shani Himanshu and Smita Singh Rathore’s label,

11:11 takes inspiration Kutch from craftsmen. Their fourth and latest instalment in this design story titled ‘On the road/ Into the wind’ was recently launched at the Mumbai store Atosa. The collection fuses both bandhini and jamdani with block printing and dyeing techniques of marbling on silks and khadi. The colours used are vegetable dyes, with pastel shades of rust, green, pink and grey dominating the line. The silhouettes are easy, flowing and wearable — with flared trousers, jumpsuits, shirts, drapes and dresses making up the collection.

A Delhi-based label, 11:11 was launched by Himashu and Rathore — founders of the design collective CellDESGN in 2008. The label has grown since then and has showcased at several international platforms, including the 2012 exhibition ‘India: Fashion Now’ at ARKEN Museum of Modern Art, Denmark. Their last big event in Mumbai was in 2010 when they showed at the Lakme Fashion Week.

With the aim to highlight eco-clothing the duo is focussing on handcrafted clothing —from the shearing of fibres to weaving, vegetable dyeing, detailing and even recycling. Now they use leftover fabric scrap to make accessories, including bags.