<h1 class="left">When Shreya Parasrampuria and Sharan Adka, batchmates at NID Ahmedabad from branches of textile and graphic design respectively, were paired together for an art project, their mutual passions for text and textile found a natural intersection. From this coincidental meeting point was born a synergy that brought about the gradual progression of a collaborative design exercise into a full-fledged clothing brand. Launched in early 2023, Day & Age unravels the interconnectedness of text and textile, viewed through the lens of time, to create handmade garments that embody a language of non-verbal communication using motifs and symbolism to tell a coming-of-age story in the present day.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">With the words text and textile tracing their root back to the Latin ‘texere’ which means ‘to weave’, the founders sought to use both words and thread as raw material to weave the fabric of the brand. Immersing themselves in research of the two twin disciplines, they came across case studies from around the world of how historically, clothing was used as a mode of communication, be it in proverbs embroidered on shawls or a secret script sewn into cloth by a community of women exclusively to confide in each other. Armed with knowledge of these processes from the past, Shreya and Sharan set out to ensure their own intervention will create ‘wearable wit for the times’. Down to the very technicalities of a ‘pixel’ in graphic design corresponding to the ‘count’ of a woven fabric, a collision caused their two worlds to intertwine and flow in and out of the passage of time.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">With the launch of two collections, ‘All Grown Up’ and ‘Bygones’, Day & Age took its first steps into the fashion industry. Unlike the linear process of a fashion brand that ascribes a blanket identity to a collection, Day & Age approaches each piece individually with a blend of techniques like machine and hand embroidery, block and digital print, to lend diversity to its clothing, in a manner that befits the story of an item. With a mixed-media approach that plays with design and material, it is a strategy that may seem to many as messy or divergent from the point of view of a brand’s scalability.</h1>
<h1 class="left">In ‘All Grown Up’, the idea of adulthood, along with the emotional upheaval and layers of expectations it brings with it, is explored. The ‘Clearly Confused’ shirt makes use of a running stitch embroidered in red thread against a black fabric and is a collage of a person traversing through the conceptualisation of adulthood. By incorporating the running stitch that requires much time and effort, in a monotonous process of threading up and down on a piece of cloth, a non-verbal commentary is made on the dreary routine of adulthood.</h1>
<h1 class="right">The collection also takes into account the history and legalities of attaining adult status at eighteen, with their ‘For the Record’ shirt representing two irises in a nod to the biometric record-keeping of those of age in governed society. In the ‘Majority Act’ piece, the Indian Majority Act of 1875 is stitched along the length of the black shirt, tracing the origins of the Indian state designating eighteen as the age of majority for its citizens, when one receives the right to universal adult franchise among others, and sails off into adulthood with its assumed responsibilities.</h1>
<h1 class="left">The second collection ‘Bygones’ consists of one-off garments released from time to time, to make fewer pieces and offset the harmful overconsumption of the industry. Designed by repurposing found fabrics with character from the yesteryears, like vintage kantha quilts, limited khadi cloth, dead stock jacquard, and hand-sewn quilts made by women artisans in Bikaner, the brand breathes vitality into a time long gone and rebuilds clothing that appeals to present-day sensibilities. The visible imperfections and mending in the pieces are celebrated as a marker of the clothing being meticulously pieced together by hand, and sustainable.</h1>
<h1 class="centre">Working with artisans around Jaipur, each piece is made-to-order in a unit operating out of Shreya’s house to prevent wastage and promote a slower route to consumption. Incorporating small details like a trinket or a charm for each of their customers, Day & Age cements their deep-seated love for non-verbal communication with an ode to those that “get” the quiet wit behind their storytelling.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Brand : Day & Age (dayandage.in)</h1>
<h1 class="full">Location : Istituto Marangoni</h1>
<h1 class="full">Stylist : Karishma Diwan</h1>
<h1 class="full">Photographer : Roy</h1>
<h1 class="full">Model : Amit Eapen</h1>
<h1 class="full">Styling Assistant : Janhavi Biyani</h1>
<h1 class="full">When Shreya Parasrampuria and Sharan Adka, batchmates at NID Ahmedabad from branches of textile and graphic design respectively, were paired together for an art project, their mutual passions for text and textile found a natural intersection. From this coincidental meeting point was born a synergy that brought about the gradual progression of a collaborative design exercise into a full-fledged clothing brand. Launched in early 2023, Day & Age unravels the interconnectedness of text and textile, viewed through the lens of time, to create handmade garments that embody a language of non-verbal communication using motifs and symbolism to tell a coming-of-age story in the present day.</h1>
<h1 class="full">With the words text and textile tracing their root back to the Latin ‘texere’ which means ‘to weave’, the founders sought to use both words and thread as raw material to weave the fabric of the brand. Immersing themselves in research of the two twin disciplines, they came across case studies from around the world of how historically, clothing was used as a mode of communication, be it in proverbs embroidered on shawls or a secret script sewn into cloth by a community of women exclusively to confide in each other. Armed with knowledge of these processes from the past, Shreya and Sharan set out to ensure their own intervention will create ‘wearable wit for the times’. Down to the very technicalities of a ‘pixel’ in graphic design corresponding to the ‘count’ of a woven fabric, a collision caused their two worlds to intertwine and flow in and out of the passage of time.</h1>
<h1 class="full">With the launch of two collections, ‘All Grown Up’ and ‘Bygones’, Day & Age took its first steps into the fashion industry. Unlike the linear process of a fashion brand that ascribes a blanket identity to a collection, Day & Age approaches each piece individually with a blend of techniques like machine and hand embroidery, block and digital print, to lend diversity to its clothing, in a manner that befits the story of an item. With a mixed-media approach that plays with design and material, it is a strategy that may seem to many as messy or divergent from the point of view of a brand’s scalability.</h1>
<h1 class="full">In ‘All Grown Up’, the idea of adulthood, along with the emotional upheaval and layers of expectations it brings with it, is explored. The ‘Clearly Confused’ shirt makes use of a running stitch embroidered in red thread against a black fabric and is a collage of a person traversing through the conceptualisation of adulthood. By incorporating the running stitch that requires much time and effort, in a monotonous process of threading up and down on a piece of cloth, a non-verbal commentary is made on the dreary routine of adulthood.</h1>
<h1 class="full">The collection also takes into account the history and legalities of attaining adult status at eighteen, with their ‘For the Record’ shirt representing two irises in a nod to the biometric record-keeping of those of age in governed society. In the ‘Majority Act’ piece, the Indian Majority Act of 1875 is stitched along the length of the black shirt, tracing the origins of the Indian state designating eighteen as the age of majority for its citizens, when one receives the right to universal adult franchise among others, and sails off into adulthood with its assumed responsibilities.</h1>
<h1 class="full">The second collection ‘Bygones’ consists of one-off garments released from time to time, to make fewer pieces and offset the harmful overconsumption of the industry. Designed by repurposing found fabrics with character from the yesteryears, like vintage kantha quilts, limited khadi cloth, dead stock jacquard, and hand-sewn quilts made by women artisans in Bikaner, the brand breathes vitality into a time long gone and rebuilds clothing that appeals to present-day sensibilities. The visible imperfections and mending in the pieces are celebrated as a marker of the clothing being meticulously pieced together by hand, and sustainable.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Working with artisans around Jaipur, each piece is made-to-order in a unit operating out of Shreya’s house to prevent wastage and promote a slower route to consumption. Incorporating small details like a trinket or a charm for each of their customers, Day & Age cements their deep-seated love for non-verbal communication with an ode to those that “get” the quiet wit behind their storytelling.</h1>
<h1 class="full">Brand : Day & Age (dayandage.in)</h1>
<h1 class="full">Location : Istituto Marangoni</h1>
<h1 class="full">Stylist : Karishma Diwan</h1>
<h1 class="full">Photographer : Roy Kaushik</h1>
<h1 class="full">Model : Amit Eapen</h1>
<h1 class="full">Styling Assistant : Janhavi Biyani</h1>