BE OPEN’s search for the future of creativity starts in India, the global philanthropic foundation, announced its intention to launch a worldwide project with eminent design consultant, President of India’s Fashion Design Council, Sunil Sethi, that looks at the handmade and how to ensure its survival in the future.
With the theme for the year ahead is North/South – East/West, the journey of discovery begins in India, where, from the time of the Mughals through the Rajput, to the present day, Indian craftsmen have been commissioned to carve and inlay marble, wood and stone, to weave in silk and to mould in clay. “Made in … India’s” exhibition will showcase furniture and tableware, textiles and jewels that reveal an imaginative reinterpretation of traditional craft skills by contemporary Indian designers.
“We have chosen designers to represent all of the craft skills for which India is best known, yet will be showing them in a light that will dramatically change the way that people might think about the tagline “Made in India”. For many, Indian goods are associated with poor quality and cheap labour. The BE OPEN project will prove that there is vast potential to reverse that perception,” says, Mr. Sunil Sethi, President FDCI.
Pieces in the exhibition include: fashion by Aneeth Arora’s “Pero” brand, Abraham and Thakore, Samant Chauhan, Ashish Soni, Gaurav Gupta, Rahul Mishra, Pankaj and Nidhi Ahuja; textiles by Gita Chopra’s “Disha” brand, Ezma and Rasa; furniture by Bombay Atelier, Ayush Kasliwal, PortsideCafé and Sameer Wheaton; products by Sunil Sethi Design Alliance, Thukral and Tagra, Gunjan Gupta, Sahil & Sarthak and Siddhartha Das; lighting design by Klove and Vibhor Sogani; and metalware by Devi Design and Episode.
Nothing will be for sale, but the work will be presented as though part of a new brand, with logo, labels and tags, shopping bags and display all reflecting contemporary design: dynamic, beautifully crafted goods, grounded in tradition, yet reinterpreted for today. Items from the exhibition will be auctioned during BE OPEN’s events at Milan World Expo 2015. The proceeds from the auction will be plowed back into the Young Talent Award fund, creating a virtuous circle of support for emerging designers.
