Fashioning CHANGE

For the Italian Republic Day celebrations held at the Royal Opera House in Mumbai on June 4, 2022, dancers from the Oliva Contemporary Dance Project performed to composer Antonio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Ebbing and flowing seamlessly with movement, the costumes were a pictorial reflection of nature’s raw intensity. In the interlude between each season, models walked the stage dressed in multi-dimensional couture evoking the elements of nature. The mind behind each of these shape-shifting pieces: Vaishali Shadangule. Her two-decade old eponymous fashion label has championed the cause of traditional handloom weaves from across the country since she first founded her line. Through her thought-provoking fabric and design interventions, she has created a fresh