Designer Anaka Narayanan can’t really remember a time when she wasn’t surrounded by textiles. After having opened her store, Brass Tacks, in Bengaluru just early this year, the enterprising individual shares the inside track — about her love for aesthetics with a dash of Indian-ness and finding her ground as a designer in the city.
“I grew up in Chennai, surrounded by textiles. My mother and her partner started a sari retail business when she was pregnant with me, so you could say textiles ran in my blood! At home, the smell of freshly starched handloom saris was pervasive during the monsoons when my mother’s saris were dried indoors.
Although I never took an interest in the business or even the creation aspect of her business, growing up surrounded by my mother’s taste in saris, bed covers, table cloths and cushion covers influenced by aesthetic sense,” shares Anaka about her earliest memories of textiles.
However, the inspiration to pursue design struck this economics graduate a tad late. “I never knew how much I enjoyed design, until much later. First I studied economics, thinking I’d work on economic development. I worked at an economic analysis firm in New York for a couple of years. Finally, it was during this time that I stated seeking out clothes that spoke to me. I was drawn towards the sharp, tailored silhouettes I saw in New York, but I missed the hand-crafted textiles I was familiar with from my childhood. I longed to see those textiles interpreted for a modern, urban young woman like me and I couldn’t find them anywhere.It was ultimately the desire to find these clothes that I could envision, and hence, I can say with conviction that.”
Despite being swamped with work, she talks about how me time is of absolute importance. “Aside from working out I love reading fiction, watching films, and of course making time to meet friends. And I make it a point to indulge in my other interests.”
Observant and in love with the city’s vibe and its people, Anaka quips, “I think Bengalureans have a very laidback, fun sense of fashion. I love that I can step into Humming Tree and find some women in dresses and some in dungarees. I see some men in formal shirts and others in shorts. People are fun-loving but they also don’t take themselves too seriously.”
The young designer with an innate passion for education and good design, says, “Don’t start your own label until you’re positive that you have a unique point of view to offer that is distinctively different from others. I also recommend starting with a partner- someone just as hard working as you and someone you can trust so that you have a peer to share the fun and the load. After that, never look back- it’s a priceless experience to watch your ideas turn into tangible pieces.”
