Sometimes fashion really leaves you spellbound, how small-town boys are wanting to change the firmament of fashion! Take for example, Anas Sheikh from Indore. A tailor’s son with his father running a boutique, Sheikh grew up aspiring to be a textile artist. “My dad wanted me to be an engineer, but I wasn’t good at academics. Like my siblings I couldn’t crack the entrance,” he laughs.

After studying fashion design at IIAD, he went on an internship to Ajrakhpur in 2019, where his life changed forever. He met Ismail Khatri, a 10th generation artisan working with Ajrakh, and his son Junaid, who trained Sheikh, at a time when he was struggling with food, weather, and language of that place. “I didn’t understand Kutchi, but I knew this is what I want to do in the future,” says Sheikh.

His brand name – 23°N.69°E – is the geographical location of Kutch. Sheikh hopes to bring other Kutch crafts under this umbrella. “We think these artisans are poor and helpless; it’s the other way round, we need their help as they are the irreplaceable masters,” he adds. From Raw Mango to Pero and Injiri, everyone comes here, they work closely with them. Ismail is a treasure and few know Ajrakh was the only dyed fabric found in Mohenjo-daro.

The indigo comes from Andhra Pradesh, from the tinctoria plant. The process is extremely difficult and laborious, as it requires fermenting. Maintenance is also tough, and the blocks are carved painstakingly. “What I learnt above all from them is how to remain humble,” he adds, explaining they told him how they started working on a four feet table to now a 15-metre cloth table, marking their growth. “Everything is done as it was 600 years ago, reigniting motifs – mango, coins, taweez, to Islamic art and architecture, never using human forms or animals,” he explains.

Sheikh has tried to serenade conventional red, blue, white and indigo palettes that have been a part of Ajrakh’s cultural tapestry. “Growing up in Indore, my father never wanted me to be in fashion. I was the black sheep of the family, but a risk taker, so I decided to stay in Ajrakhpur. My father wants me to run his business, but I want to take my brand forward – textiles are art,” he admits.

He adds a new dimension to his clothing by hand painting with brushes with natural dyes that you can see on his pleated roomy Hakama pants. He is heavily influenced by the Japanese way of thinking and living. “You need patience to build, even though showcasing a line is so expensive, if along the way you find ‘believers’, you will thrive,” he concludes. – Asmita is the Lifestyle Editor of NRI Focus. She is an award winning journalist who has been writing on fashion for the last 32 years