How I Took Odia Culture Abroad Through Brand Collaborations

I started reaching out to people and shared the news with them. I casually asked Tanaya, an NID friend of mine who is into fashion and apparel design, if she could help me with a list of brands doing amazing work in the textile space rooted in Odia culture. In a few days, she came up with an amazing list!! It had a long list of brands. Amounee, Boito, Galang Gabban, Kunsquad, Rural Conversation and many more caught my attention. She suggested that we get in touch with Arundhati Bandhakala, since she had a good friend at that company. I started cold emailing everyone with an offer to represent the brand on prestigious international academic platforms. I also clearly told them that they would have a bunch of amazing photographs of the outfits in those natural settings. Some of the brands responded enthusiastically.

Some couldn’t sync with us on timing and logistics. My meetings with Arundhati went well, and we finally received some amazing pieces from them as part of a gifting collaboration. We received a beautiful Sonepur Bandha (ikat) saree woven in mulberry silk and a bundi jacket rendered in cotton. The saree features temple-like architectural forms that transition into floral imagery and lamp and ceremonial vessel ritual imagery. It also featured motifs of potted plants. In short, it was beautiful with an amazing story behind it. The jacket also matched the saree so well.

This was the first “collaboration” with a brand.

I had never thought I would dive into the fashion space this way ever!! I felt so happy when we received the products at the company’s office and had a photograph with the CEO. At home, mummy would be like, why would someone give you such expensive stuff for free! Lol, it’s difficult to explain that to her. Next, we received a very positive response from Kivah, a brand being built by Khushi Kansara, an RCA alumnus, who had reached out to me after reading my LinkedIn post. I had a chat with Lipsa Hembram from Galang Gabban and Richa Banjara from Rural Conversations, too, since I wanted that traditional touch to the outfits. Utkalamrita had some amazing options too, but Amrita clarified that she would expect us to buy them at a reduced price, which I wasn’t so keen on. Honestly, I didn’t have the financial bandwidth to spend on these gorgeous, expensive outfits. A gifting collaboration was the only way out.

Ankita, from Arundhanti Bandhakala, introduced us to Rajashree, a textile geek based in Odisha. She wanted to start a brand focused on traditional outfits with a modern, contemporary touch. This felt like the right spot to join hands. We decided to design some Kotpad outfits with a very modern and elegant touch. Ankita and Rajashree mam worked on it relentlessly to craft a beautiful coat for Yashaswinee. It matched it with a perfect Kotpad jacket. Though there was a last-minute rush for it since we weren’t quite satisfied with the tailor’s stitching, we decided to lock it and take it to London. Ankita literally sent it to us hours before our flight time.

How can I forget the warmth and welcoming gesture I received from Kunsquad! Pallabi, one of the co-founders of Kunsquad, straight up asked me to come to their experience centre upon receiving my email. I went there to check them in person, and believe me, it was one of the most exhilarating experiences I’ve ever had. I felt like grabbing a bunch of them! But I wasn’t sure how much I should ask. But since I loved them all so much, especially the Pattachitra edits, I decided to request all my favourite ones. I knew I could pull off an amazing set of photos in the UK with those outfits. It was exactly the look I wanted! A modern look rooted in Odia culture. What a match made in heaven! In a few days, a large box containing all the outfits was delivered to our home in Bhubaneswar. You have to touch and feel them to understand the quality standards I am talking about. I literally wore the outfits by Kunsquad repeatedly in London as if they were my comfort food.

In the second half, Yashaswinee chaired a session. It was her first time chairing an academic conference. I sat in the second row and took some photos of her. She was wearing a specially designed outfit by Rajashree Mam, who is building “House of Koudi” as I am writing this. We are pretty much the first official ambassadors of the House of Koudi. It was a lovely set of outfits and super elegant. As expected, it caught the organising team’s attention, and they told us we matched our outfits today! “Yayyy!!” we cheered, smiling at them.

The third and final day arrived. And we decided to close the event with an amazing outfit by Arundhati Bandhakala. The saree Yashasineee wore that day was absolutely gorgeous. In fact, amongst all collaborations, this is our first one. It was only because of Tanaya and Ankita that my email reached the company’s founding director. They loved the idea of the outfits going to Manchester and Cambridge, and we quickly moved ahead with the collaboration.

The saree featured beautiful motifs of regional architecture, flora, and fauna. The colour was very subtle, and it was made of mulberry silk. It’s one of the finest handloom sarees I have come across, and I am so glad they offered this to us. I had a beautiful cotton jacket that matched the saree's colour. We felt so proud to represent Odisha’s cultural roots on such a prestigious international academic platform. Yashasiwnee looked so gorgeous and elegant in the saree.

While we were presenting, the official photographer captured an amazing photo of both of us. I hope to receive the photo soon so that I can share it with Arundhati's amazing team! I am sure they would love it. Later, I took some photos of Yashaswinee as she shared the Roundtable and spoke with other participants. We went near the poster and shared our work with some more people and tools, and added more photos.

During lunch, we went back to the museum and took a few more photographs. Since we had a brand collaboration, we had an obligation to take some lovely photos in those spaces. So, apart from the academic side of things, a part of my brain would keep a note of the photographs we had managed to capture. It was a new experience for us.

I went with Jack outside the room. I gifted him a “Tala Patra Pattachitra”, which is basically a traditional form of palm leaf engraving from Odisha, India, that dates back over a thousand years.

It had images of Lord Jagannath, Balabadra and Subhadra, along with a lot of micro-detailing around them. Jack said he might put it in his son’s room. It made me very happy. He was very happy to receive it, and then we hugged and took a photo together. Karen, who had been photographing the data school, helped us take a lovely photo.

She suggested that we bring our own cultural perspectives without flattening them. In fact, Dylan suggested a book, ‘Unflattening’ by Nick Sousanis, published by Harvard University Press.

By then, Yashaswinee had known more about Cambridge than I did. Her solo explorations had given her a better sense of the map than I, for sure. She took me to one of Cambridge’s main colleges. I believe it was King’s College. We took some photos there. I was wearing the House of Koudi outfit, so it was inevitable to take some special photos there, with the gorgeous building in the background.

The next day, I reached a bit early and took a chance to ask Eleanor for a photo with her. Yahsaswinee helped us capture a photo. I was wearing a beautiful cotton jacket by Arundhati Badhakala. This is the most precious photo I have of the entire trip. I love the photo. It gives me goosebumps when I think of this photo. After all the highs and lows in my life, I wonder how it all fell in place to lead me to this. It still feels unbelievable.

The next day, we decided to wear the Kunsquad pattachitra edits and do a twinning. We took many pictures on our way to the campus. As I headed to my class, she headed to the Faculty of Education, which was about a 40-minute walk from the Faculty of English where my classes were.

As the last day arrived, I packed the pattachitra I had gotten from Ragurajpur. I wanted to give it to Eleanor. I was so excited for Eleanor to see it. It was one of my favourite pieces among the hundreds of artworks we saw at the artist’s home. On our way to the campus, we did another extensive photoshoot with the Kotpad outfits by ‘House of Koudi’. I love those photos. The weather was so good, and the dusky clouds in the sky made it all so soft.

I stayed back for a bit longer until most students had left, and Eleanor was free. In the cafe space, I opened the pattachitra for her. She had a glimpse of it and was in awe! I shared the backstory of how it’s made and the details of Ratha yatra, Puri and Lord Jagannath. Yashaswinee helped photograph the beautiful moment.

Then something happened which will stay with me forever. Eleanor told me it’s a beautiful, intricate painting, and it would be nice to have it in the Digital Humanities department’s new building. I couldn’t process the fact that it would go into the walls of the University of Cambridge. She called Annie and told her about it. I was screaming, “Omg! Is this real!!” inside my head. I asked Annie for a pen and to write my name, RCA, and Cambridge University, along with the Date and Year, on the back of the artwork. Then I rolled it up, packed it and handed it to Annie. I could see Yashaswinee smiling aloud and also capturing this beautiful moment with excitement and care.

We headed for Punting the next day. Wearing the amazing outfit combo by Arundhati Bandhakala, we headed towards the Punting Site. She looked gorgeous in the saree. We got on the boat and took our seats. It was a 50-minute ride, approximately and led by a punter named Said, who shared with us the history of the colleges of Cambridge all the way. The fun facts about the iconic figures like Newton, Rahul Gandhi, Nehru, and Stephen Hawking were nice to hear. Yashaswinee loved the ride. It was on her wishlist for a long time. And so was mine.

Continue reading this story: While the brand shoots and conference stages looked effortless, travelling through London, Manchester, and Cambridge as a couple meant staying disciplined with every single pound spent. From booking small Airbnbs to finding comfort in £10 ramen bowls, read the behind-the-scenes travel guide in How We Did Manchester and Cambridge as a Couple on a Budget.