Sanjay Garg, founder of Raw Mango, on disrupting the textile space in India.

Parrot, Mogra, Monkey. Angels and aliens. Traditional yet liberal. Rooted yet disruptive. Heritage seen through the lens of individuality. Textiles reimagined, woven and packaged with unapologetic rawness – one that transmutes into hyperlocal visuals painted with the warm tone of nostalgia. Binaries break and get remoulded at Raw Mango. The brand website says that Raw Mango draws from the colours, philosophies and cultures of India to create a unique voice, questioning place and perspective through design. Since its inception in 2008, Raw Mango has shaped and sustained this practice of questioning conventional, tried and tested modes of storytelling. Credited for having disrupted formulaic “embroidery fashion”, Raw Mango sells arange of saris, garments and objects. Here, Sanjay Garg breaks down the design interventions and the visual vocabulary of Raw Mango. (Edited excerpts)

FL: Could you tell us about the Daliesque touch in your latest collection ‘Other’? Have you consciously moved away from the brand’s nostalgic redrawing of small-town imagery in favour of the surreal?

SG: I don’t consciously do anything except follow my instinct. ‘Other’ emerged from the same space as all our work, an ongoing reaction to the current context. Whereas our collection can take years to create, the campaign and visuals are one of the last steps, and allow for an approach different from the collection. In this case, it was during the first lockdown – which was a very trying time for us all. The elements of surrealism were evident in our earlier works too. The first Raw Mango campaign titled ‘Sari’ shot 21 years ago featured a green-faced woman – my sister – whom I shot. ‘Monkey Business’ and ‘Cloud People’ too had such elements. Even our stores in Lodhi Road in Delhi and Mumbai and Bengaluru reflect elements of surrealism.

FL: How do you think Raw Mango has subverted the dominant imagery in Indian textile narratives?

SG: I am less concerned with trying to subvert the dominant imagery as much as looking for innovations and resolutions. Some of the major interventions included the addition of vibrant colours and colour blocking in the saris and borders, which were traditionally only gold. The introduction of motifs such as birds, mogra, monkeys and even angels were not part of the traditional design vocabulary.

FL: As a textile designer and visual thinker, Sanjay Garg has shaped and steered Raw Mango as a counter-cultural movement through documentary-style campaigns. Could you tell us about the process?

SG: Raw Mango is a textile brand rooted in Indian culture. Everything from art, dance, food are all integral parts of the social fabric in India, and the idea is to incorporate local elements that gain meaning through history, culture and context in our design vocabulary across all mediums. In India, art, design or fashion were never seen as separate entities – you can’t see them in a compartmentalised silo. Kala is a by-product of all forms of artistic creation and is intertwined with history and culture.

FL: From Chanderi to Banarasi and Mashru saris to ready-to-wear garments “stitched” on handloom – could you deconstruct the design trajectory?

SG: We engage with the visual vocabulary of India through measured interventions within traditional practices – be it design, material, tools, techniques or colours – revisiting archives is an important part of this process. For example, in ‘Heer’ we drew from vintage handloom and textiles in Varanasi silk featuring motifs that gain meaning through history, culture and context. However, in our collection ‘MOOMAL’, we did not feel Bandhej or Bandhini required any design intervention.

FL: As Raw Mango has traversed terrains and plains across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Varanasi, could you give us a glimpse into its aesthetic high points through the decade, as seen through the eyes of Sanjay Garg?

SG: In terms of textiles, we work with weavers and artisans across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Varanasi. Personally, I love Mashru as a textile – its simplification over time is a result of many design interventions – and the Ashrafi coin motifs, or the stripes strike me as having an eternal life span. Craft is alive through utility objects and as decorative objects – both are still very much present in India. All our indigenous motifs tell a story; each object has a uniqueness. Our heritage is manifested through this huge sum of craftsmanship and is rooted and connected to the livelihoods of so many people.