Finding one world to design for two.
Archana Rao’s practice had evolved from fashion design into costume design. The brief was to create a cohesive brand world that could accommodate both disciplines, allowing the practice to evolve without being defined by either one.
Bringing two creative practices into one world.
Fashion builds a label and a recognisable point of view. Costume begins with a character, a story and a world beyond the designer herself.
The challenge was to find what connected both practices without making one feel secondary to the other.
The Approach
Finding the individual behind the garment.
We studied Archana’s creative process and found a common thread: her fascination with strong, distinct individuals.
Whether designing for a collection or a film character, her work holds a unique tension- softness without fragility, femininity without passivity, and romance without losing individuality.
This led us to Anthology- a world of characters, collections, films and moments, each with its own voice yet connected by Archana’s distinctive point of view.
The Solve
Building a brand as a series of anthologies.
Anthology became the framework for bringing fashion and costume together. Rather than relying on a single aesthetic, the brand could evolve through different characters and creative expressions while retaining a shared sensibility.
Giving the anthology a visual language.
We developed an intricate illustration featuring the tailorbird, fig and sampangi flower, drawing from the craft, textiles and sense of place in Archana’s work. Refreshed colours, including a brighter green, brought renewal while retaining the brand’s recognisable character.
Designing for discovery.
The visual language was designed to reveal itself gradually, appearing in fragments across packaging, garments and communication. Each expression offered a glimpse into a larger world.
One world, many characters. Anthology gave Archana Rao a framework for her creative range to coexist, evolve and find expression, one character at a time.
Project Credits:
Vydika Rao, Harshitha Reddy, Ketki Ujjainkar, Neya Prabu