Sarmast

ANAVILA | FESTIVE 2025

Sarmast was developed as a Hyderabad-inspired collection within a 35-day timeline, exploring wajd, a state of poetic intoxication, through the Deccan, its architecture and the world of Nizami extravagance. Research and creative writing looked towards the palaces and elaborate gatherings of Hyderabad’s aristocracy, including the costume balls associated with the Salar Jung family. This translated into floral embroideries, woven textiles and rich surface development. The Durru sari drew from the floral arrangements and motifs of Indo-European Deccan architecture, first developed in zari and later carried into organza and khadi silk across three collections. Two brocades were developed for Sarmast: a rust revival with newly drawn butis and borders, and a deep indigo woven with interpretations of French tapestries from the hyderabad court. The ziba lehenga set offered one of the few opportunities to work on print, while the Gota Kinari sari developed during Aamod was revisited in lace for Sarmast and became an immediate success. Working within the compressed timeline meant research, creative writing, textile development and production had to move together, with the textile often becoming the point where an idea found its final form.

SARMAST | ANAVILA | FESTIVE'25 Sarmast, a Persian word for being poetically intoxicated, finds its inspiration in the old city of Hyderabad, where the splendour of the Nizams, the poetry of the Deccan and the mysticism of Sufi thought have lived alongside one another for centuries. There is a particular kind of beauty to Hyderabad. Marble courtyards, old palaces, roses, attar, carved stone and the quiet grandeur of another time. Beneath all of it runs the idea of wajd, the state of being so deeply moved that one forgets oneself. It is this feeling of abandon that sits at the heart of Sarmast. The clothes move with the same sense of freedom. Flowing silhouettes take from the movement of the dervish, while handwoven linen with zari, silk, organza and brocade bring together the ease of the Deccan with the richness of the Nizam era. French lace and crochet soften the more opulent textiles. The embroidery looks further afield, to the floral language of European Rococo and Baroque, translated through Indian hands and techniques. Flowers become more elaborate, symmetry gives way to movement and the old and the new begin to sit comfortably beside one another. Sarmast is a collection about that meeting of worlds. About beauty that does not need to announce itself, and clothes that carry a little of the romance, poetry and abandon of Hyderabad.