Ornate Solace: Nature’s Serenity in Gender-Neutral Expression
Ayushka Kote - B.Sc. in Fashion and Apparel Design 2022
Ayushka Kote’s Ornate Solace, the winner of The Beyond Gender Collection Award (For dismantling traditional norms), is a Spring/Summer unisex line that interprets nature’s peaceful beauty into effortless, contemporary fashion. Based on the concept of achieving emotional calm in the ornate elements of nature, the collection expresses the duality of simplicity and complexity through considered design, gender-neutral shapes, and minimalist botanical illustration.
The name of the collection, Ornate Solace, summarizes the essence of the collection—serenity in detail. Taking cues from fine details such as leaf veins, shell curves, and fine root structures, Ayushka reinterprets nature’s fine lines as fashion art. Surface detailing includes fine-line botanical paintings with minimal threadwork, conveying softness without compromising structure.
Silhouettes are fluid and expansive: oversized tops, dropped shoulders, wrap silhouettes, flared and harem bottoms, all intended to dissolve the boundaries between masculine and feminine styles. Layered panels, asymmetry, pin-tucks, and limited closures create texture and movement and increase versatility and comfort.
Fabrics consist of cotton for top—lustrous and light—and terrycloth for structured but ventilated bottoms. The palette—off-white, ash brown, olive green, and black—is earthy in tone, producing calm and restrained elegance.
Ornate Solace addresses a new generation of fashion that emphasizes emotion, comfort, and acceptance. It invites every identity to discover tranquillity through fashion, demonstrating that one does not have to scream in order to be heard. Ayushka Kote’s work with each design offers a harmonious view of fashion as both self-expression and self-calming—a gentle resistance to speed-trend-driven design.
Lanchana Nanda pulled off a sneaky genius: she made the old-school Malnad comfort totally blend with current-day design smarts. Nothing clashes. Nothing feels forced. You get this spot that makes you think “hmm, am I in a boutique retreat or someone’s ancestral home?”