Ateev Anand is rethinking occasion wear

Name: Ateev Anand

Profession: Fashion designer

Current residence: Mumbai

Why you should know him: Anand has not one, but two labels. He’s the founder of Re-Ceremonial, a line of occasion-ready ceremonial pieces made from recycled and handwoven fabrics. His second venture is Teev, a ready-to-wear label focusing on handloom cotton.

Where (and on whom) have you seen his clothes: Everyone from Ananya Panday and Sonam Kapoor to Kareena Kapoor Khan, has worn Re-Ceremonial’s angrakha-styled, flared anarkalis and ghaghras.

How was Re-Ceremonial born: Serendipitously. “The first ever garment I made from recycled textiles was a wedding dress in 2020 for this wonderful girl I’d got chatting with at the airport. Re-Ceremonial was a far cry then. So, the first garment I ever made was a wedding outfit. I started off with ready-to-wear right after that because I thought it had more merit, but I soon realised that if I had to speak to the Indian audience, ceremonial garments were key.”

Why fashion is an emotion-based endeavour: “I don’t think I would have launched myself into this if I had one intelligent bone in my body.”

On the ‘sustainable’ tag: “The word bores me, quite honestly. It’s overused, ambiguous, and means nothing. You do the best you can, and I feel that the earth will swallow whatever it can’t sustain.”

On creating “cycles of trust through clothing”: “A dear friend once said sustainability is a space of no fear. That stuck with me. When I dug deeper into the idea, I realised that it meant creating or making while being very informed of the consequences so that you don’t ever feel like you’re causing harm with what you chose or actioned. One can stay sort of myopic and say, “Hey, within the parameters of my confines, I’m all right.” But my job is to stay aware and to stay honest about how much I’m aware of. We think of what we bring to a consumer beyond just cut, colour, and fit. It’s not about burdening them with information but about informing them that they’re part of a cultural and material dialogue. We take in clothes even after years of wearing them and we re-dye them for our clients so that they’re constantly renewed. Those, to me, are all cycles of trust.”

His pet peeve as a designer: “Ohh, to create a ‘look’ for every season. I find that so redundant and so archaic. But while I’m still growing my label, I will succumb to the expectations, I humbly concede.”

Can scale come without giving up values? “If any kind of plant form or animal form is scaling beyond natural order, they’re called parasites. But when humans do it for commerce, we call it success. That’s something that we need to check for ourselves. The aim is to have growth without having to compromise, in a manner where none of the practices are dishonest.”

On his forever collaborator: “None of my colours happen without Adiv Pure Nature, a natural dye studio that works with recycled flowers offered at temples.”

Why young kids should hold off on starting brands: “I just feel like apprenticeship has really lost its charm and the idea of being trained in, and honing, a skill doesn’t exist anymore. People feel quite informed within just six months of practice.”