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EXCLUSIVE: Aakriti Grover on Flirtatious, showstopper Sanya Malhotra at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI and more
Aakriti Grover's 2013-born 'Flirtatious' has grown tremendously. Her newest collection takes us through a colourful trip and we cannot wait to holiday. Read for details.
Swimwear sweetness overload. Currently, on a strict DND tour with the live showcases at the Lakmé Fashion Week X FDCI stage, peak Spring and Summer chic can be felt. Themes are changing, inspirations are pouring in and we're feeling pity for our wallets. While certain silhouettes can be the same, it's only the hope of prints and cuts that keeps us going through the many shows. A dive into day 2 was refreshing as more swimsuits, resort wear and sparkle filled the room.
All turned especially vibrant when Flirtatious and its showstopper made us want to instantly flirt with all ensembles in silence. The line carried a joyous opulence of Sicily and its beachside behaviour. With 'The White Lotus' as its strongest influence, Aakriti Grover's creations bore brilliant and vibrant motifs and colours. Your vacations can never run dry with monokinis to bikinis and all of the summer bliss as summed up by this collection.
Pinkvilla's exclusive chat with Aakriti gives you details on abstract prints she chose to explore, her growth from 2013 to 2023 and Sanya Malhotra as her stunning muse for the 'Sicilian Summer' collection. 
Aakriti talks about Flirtatious, its journey, and sustainability
Designers often draw inspiration from places and art and more. What is so intriguing and convincing about Sicily?
What took us back to Sicily was The White Lotus S2. The culture, beauty, seaside, beach experience, and entire Sicily came to life in the show and that is what curved us towards making a collection inspired by the pool tiles, the umbrella, lemons, and everything you find on the beach.
Vibrant hues and colour-blocking techniques offer the best ever taste of summer. How excited were you to put up your showcase on display today?
It's true nothing screams joyfulness more than colour. I feel poppy, bright colours and amazing prints really strike out against an entire beach background on the summer holidays making you take those perfect Instagram pictures getting the right hues to work with.
What sort of style stories will this collection unleash for its customers? Tell us about how creative you chose to be with this one.
With the Sicilian summer collection, customers will feel a lot more vibrant. They would be comfortable putting print on print, and solids with prints. They would enjoy the mix and match of hues and the burst of colours which I think would flatter them. The colours that we've used look great against Indian skin tones. So, I think it would make them feel rather vibrant this season.
What was it like working with actress Sanya Malhotra as a showstopper? Give us details about her outfit and what factors did you have to consider while styling her?
Working with Sanya felt true to the theme. She was as easy as a breeze and fresh. In styling, we kept her comfortable and flowy.
Swimwear is no longer restricted to spring or summer, it is accepted all year round. How much research is too much and how do you tackle challenges as a designer?
When we started ten years ago, having two collections a year was the norm that went around. Over the last few years, this routine has changed with designers taking out collections every two months. And, it isn't season-specific anymore.
Whereas, for us, we never did a Spring/Summer and Autumn/Winter collection. It was always just a collection because everybody has their own time span and theme when they go on a holiday. So, I feel that swimwear is used throughout the year because it depends on when one gets free time to travel. And, with the option of WFH, people travel often and work from different locations which give a lot of exploring power to swimwear. Because, I feel when you choose destinations for holidays, at least one will have a beachside.
What were a few highs and lows you’ve experienced as a brand?
Every journey has its bits of highs and lows. One values the highs because of the lows you go through. It's challenging, a very human-driven industry. There are all sorts of people you have to work and deal with and be answerable to. So, I feel it's challenging and overwhelming with the kind of variety of conversations and dealings you have to do but it is also extremely rewarding when you hear feedback from a really, really valued customer where they appreciate what they have purchased and how much they enjoy it. Every time a customer comes back to you and shares a confident picture of what they're wearing, loving it extremely.
So, I feel those are the things that keep you happy and love the fact that plus-size people have become so comfortable with what they wear, how they wear it and how comfortable they feel. So, it has changed the narrative quite a bit and it's extremely rewarding.
From swimwear to gym wear, can you trace the journey of Flirtatious?
From swimwear to gym wear, it was a very natural curve for us. Believing in an active lifestyle, keeping your mental and physical strength, to keep yourselves stimulated throughout. It's very important to live a very active lifestyle. Both are very sports-driven in their nature and they both involve a certain bit of activity and both require a stretchable and comfortable contoured feeling fabric.
From ‘Waste’ to ‘Wear’ is the promise made by your brand. What led the way to sustainable practice and how religiously are you feeding its growth?
We as a brand don't claim to be a hundred per cent sustainable. But, yes, we do claim that we try as much as we can. We try to navigate to make more mindful choices. For instance, since the inception of the brand, we've stuck to a made-to-measure model where we do not produce more than required, and where we do not keep large quantities of stocks. We make fresh pieces for our customers on order. So, we try not to use too many resources or have too much waste in the way we create and process. And, we have always stuck to this from day one, ten years ago.
Whereas the fabric, we naturally navigate it to the option of regenerated nylon, it is made from the ocean waste. It wasn't accessible when we started but when the option become available, we navigated towards it. To be honest, you can source a sustainable fabric but the minute you put your print on it, you are printing it chemically. So, that's why you cannot claim to be a hundred per cent sustainable but yes we do try as much as we can with all options available to us.
We try to use waste materials to create scrunchies, bags and headbands. We try to minimise waste wherever we can and just grow and see every year what are the alternate routes. At the end of the day, it's business, so you try to see what are viable ways to do it and how you can manoeuvre around it.
2 interesting inspirations you’ve drawn in the past to create your collections?
A lot of my inspiration comes from travel. Going to different countries, experiencing different cultures, the interaction one has there and the inspiration that each one has to offer. So, our inspiration revolves around blurring boundaries and seeing the world as one. It is about personal experiences being translated into a collection to connect with the rest of the world.
Can you tell us about one of your biggest launches in 2022?
I think Covid really changed the narrative of how everyone puts content out there. Also, the introduction of reels made the brands go to a whole different level of communication with their followers. So, I feel more raw and real the content is, it is a lot more collectable. And, some of our really important moments in 2022 would have been - our clients became comfortable sharing their pictures, how they felt in their swimsuits, putting themselves out there.
I feel every year we see growth in that aspect and that is the biggest victory for the brand. It is for people to feel comfortable in what they wear, enjoy it and feel confident. They don't hesitate to put themselves out there.
Can you mention 2 trends you haven’t tried earlier and wish to try in 2023?
If you see our Sicilian summer collection, the prints that we have worked with are different from what we have done in the past. We usually stick to floral, geometric, stripes whereas it is a whole scenario where it is bringing to you the entire White Lotus Silician summer picture into print and making it fun and vibrant. So, I feel like that is already our first step in 2023, trying on a different approach, and different narrative to our prints.
What is it about Flirtatious you wouldn’t wish to change?
I think it would be the heart of the brand - where we lie, where we are, and where we exist. We are not perfect but we try to learn and try to do better. And, the fact that we are learning every day, we are experimenting every day, I feel that, where there is learning, there is growth. So, I'm happy that we are learning on a daily basis.
What do you think about Sanya's outfit?
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