Toda Swaddle- Sync- JD Design Awards 2022

The designers of the exquisite collection Toda Swaddle are Wilsha Maria Quadras, Nikitha N, and Supriya Puttappa. Based on the overarching theme Sync of JD Design Awards, the brilliant minds brainstormed and looked around for inspiration. With their extensive and rigorous research, they realized how we humans were polluting nature and crippling it. On the other hand when we humans were in Sync with nature when we were still living as tribes before the industrial revolution. Their research led us to discover the Toda tribe of the Nilgiris who continue to live an eco-friendly lifestyle and worship nature while working hard to protect it. The designers took inspiration from the toda tribe, basically focused on the Toda embroidery which is reversible.

The pathway that our designers chose was to inspire a group. They went ahead with it by teaching the tribe, upskilling them and teaching them to stitch the reversible garments with a single piece of fabric. The embroidery was done in such a way that it is visible on both the sides and can resonate with Indian wear while when you flip it, the western touch can be seen. The group of designers curated androgynous collection because the traditional shawl that they used was poothkuly that is wraped by both men and women.

To give a shape to their concept, the designers did their primary research to understand the daily activities of the Toda tribe and discovered the women of the community are well known for their embroidery skill known as pukhoor. In order to curate one of a kind ensemble, the designers taught the women to stitch gender and size neutral dresses. The entire inspiration was closely associated with Earthy vibes and natural elements hence their collection included the use of cork leather as trims and accessories. The collection is for the fall/winter season. The garments have a soft, comfortable leather and cozy aesthetic. The earthy colors represent purity and maturity. The entire collection has a minimalistic modern style with an Indian touch.

The beautiful collection by the three designers hailing from JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore also received the Innovative Pret Wear Award from the prestigious JD Design Awards 2022.