Ever since Ujjawal Dubey showcased his classic men’s wear label Antar-Agni at Lakmē Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2014 GenNext show, there has been no looking back for the designer. Since then, he has added women’s wear and given his brand a stylish transgender touch that has won him many accolades. Ujjawal, the winner of several awards also won the Regional Round of the Woolmark Prize in Asia Category, Best Upcoming Designer for Menswear at the Grazia Young Fashion Awards 2015. He was named as the 50 most influential Young Indians by GQ India and won the Elle Graduate Award in 2016. He was also named in the 30 under 30 list by the Forbes India magazine in 2017
His latest collection, which celebrated the 10th year of Antar-Agni at Lakmé Fashion Week in partnership with FDCI on Sustainable Fashion Day, 10th October 2024 at The Grand, New Delhi, created quite a stir on the ramp. Called “Two Faced”, the new collection had a series of extremes, which the Antar-Agni label is known for. It was a dance of contrasts between structure and fluidity, minimalism and ornamentation, tradition and innovation. It was a line that will appeal to the many personalities hidden within a person’s psyche.
Unveiled in a trinity of interconnected segments – Render, Wander and Surrender that represented facets of human experience, the looks were varied in treatment. Render was all about structured three-piece sets with long trenches and layered ensembles in western cuts. Wander was devoted to drapes and wrap-ons that revoked a monastic visual, where high-waisted pants were showcased on barefoot models that reflected the nuance of detachment from material elements. Finally, Surrender was the culmination of Render and Surrender that were merged to celebrate with headpieces, and elements in an expressive form.
Ujjawal has always been partial to Indian fabrics and this season he stayed true to hand-woven cottons from Uttar Pradesh, as well as hand-woven lush silks from Varanasi, along with rich velvets and cotton silk, while metallic accents and tissue fabrics added a dimension of light and shadow. Keeping the festive season in mind, the brand worked with colours like charcoal, black, forest green, and aubergine, which would be ideal for nighttime glamour. Known for his impeccable tailoring and finishing, Ujjawal once again proved his worth as a master creator who had his fingers on the pulse of his customers.
Moving off the beaten path, the designer had some fun with abstract handwork, which is the brand’s speciality that was achieved after years of subtle experimentation and allowed to move to centre stage in a refined manner. The dual faces of the garments were visible in the immaculate construction, as sharply cut and tailored ensembles were skilfully merged with the quintessential drapes, layers and pleats as well as fabric manipulation that Ujjawal brought into menswear and since then have become the characteristic look for men. Ujjawal’s novel treatment of translucent fabrics was constructed to reveal, conceal and played with depth, while hand-embroidered abstract motifs not only added a tactile dimension to the visuals but projected the concept of duality.
In its 10th year, Ujjawal Dubey’s Antar-Agni brand presented a look at human spirit that was complex, ever-changing but unapologetically authentic. The “Two Faced” collection by Ujjawal Dubey for his label Antar-Agni was a celebration of reimagined Indian craftsmanship that celebrated the concept of contradiction, vulnerability and the courage to show various facets of one’s personality, with a mix of nostalgia and fast-forward future trends aimed at a wide variety of buyers.
