AARON, THE REVIVALIST
O
ne look at Aaron Borthwick and you associate him with glamour, glitter and grandeur. Here is a lad who discarded his comfort zone to pursue his passion - dress designing. He stepped out of Visakha Valley School, completing 12th standard and plunged into designing. Within a few months, he is out with his own clothing brand LABEL AB (derived from his name) on the first anniversary of Sia. He will be pursuing International Business Management at Barcelona next year, but is determined to continue with his first love –fashion. This self-trained designer has learnt everything through sheer grit and hard work. Ask him what keeps him on his toes and he replies without missing a beat, “I keep telling myself that I need to set the bar higher every day.” More about LABEL AB from Aaron himself.
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I LET MY IMAGINATION FLY FREE AND BEYOND THE ORDINARY.
Design Philosophy I don’t design clothes to shock people and create awe. I let my imagination fly free and beyond the ordinary. My philosophy centres on making a person feel and look gorgeous. If I do that, its mission accomplished for me.
faux pas because in a place like Vizag, it is remembered for a longer period. Trend that Makes You Cringe Shararas with short kurtas and furry footwear. I find them off-putting.
Institutions You do not require any formal education The Process as long as you have the passion and I bring a contemporary update to the creativity. For eg., Alexander Wang, a US indigenous handlooms. I go to villages to fashion designer & former creative pick up materials. I draw designs, decide director of Balenciaga, is a college on the embroidery, cut & colour pattern. Then it goes to tailors. All my clothes are dropout. Miuccia Prada, an Italian billionaire designer and businesswoman, customisable. My brand LABEL AB has a Ph.D in political science. includes DEVANGANA (festive wear), BANDHURA (occasion wear) and AVANI Favourite Designer (pret collection of linen with thread work). Olivier Rousteing, French fashion Trends –yay or nay? Yay. In fact, I regularly follow many stylists and celebrities on social media.
designer and the creative director of Balmain. He brings a new edge and vision to fashion which is very avantgarde and modern.
City Trends People are inhibited. It takes time to make them try something which is in vogue. People dread making a fashion
Best Dressed Film Celeb Samantha Akkineni. Her dress sense is very chic and elegant. I love the way she
experiments with the latest trends. The fact that she promotes handlooms is admirable and inspiring. Ankitha Vs Aaron Poles apart! She prefers pastel and pleasant colours like my mother, while I love bright and vibrant colours like her mother. We both have our own set of teams. So, there are no clashes. Her collection is what you can wear to a cocktail party or office wear while my collection is more of festive wear. Future Plans I will be launching an exclusive and exquisite range of evening gowns and party wear in December. I shall tour villages to explore, research and understand different handloom fabrics. Welfare Initiative I run a group called Earth’s Shepherds which plants saplings all over the colony and waters them. Earlier, I used to visit the hospice at Age Care Foundation. red | november 2017 | 49