Meet Helena Bajaj Larsen, the Indian-Norwegian textile designer blurring the line between fashion and art.
Young designers are often told to carve out a specific niche, but Helena Bajaj-Larsen’s background is too wide and her ambition too large to be hemmed in by conventional wisdom. The 24-year-old textile designer is based between Paris, Dubai, and Mumbai, and her work draws on at least three cultures. The textiles she creates—based on traditional Indian natural fiber “khadi” fabrics—are used for a collection of refined ready-to-wear and home goods sold under her eponymous label.
Bajaj-Larsen grew up with art. Her mother is the acclaimed painter Sujata Bajaj and her father, Rune Jul Larsen, is a Norwegian academic. Raised in Paris, she has been immersed in cultural life since birth. “While most of my friends would go to the countryside over the weekend, our family activities would consist of gallery openings, art fairs, previews, [and] studio visits,” says Bajaj-Larsen.
“I have been blessed to have met multiple industry veterans who were kind enough to take the time to sit down with me and look at my work,” says Bajaj-Larsen. “They all seemed to agree there was another realm to explore using the same creative identity: something beyond the somewhat restrictive scale of ‘fashion design’ in a traditional sense. I look forward to seeing how this will manifest itself in the future.
“I would get frustrated with the prints and fabrics available in stores when I was sourcing for college projects. Everything looked the same. The colors didn’t have enough depth, the patterns felt endlessly repetitive: geometrics, animal, florals. I would pick up these pieces and try to alter them as much as possible through various techniques, be it embroidery, paint, laser cutting, etching, appliqués, fusing.”“It starts with yardage—white silk laid out on long tables, 20 meters at a time.
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