Péro: From Himachal Pradesh to Australia
It’s special when Indian designers break geographic borders to derive inspiration for their collection, and that’s exactly what Péro has done this season. With its Fall Winter 2019 collection, Péro tackles the journey of merino wool, all the way from Australia, to the handlooms of Himachal Pradesh, bringing it finally to its runway.
Péro Fall Winter 2019
How did they manage to do this? They collaborated with The Woolmark Company of course! In this attempt, they narrowed the gaps between places and people, nature and crafts. With this season Péro looks back to look forward, with archival textiles from Himachal Pradesh, inspiring new colours, pattern and drapes. The fabrics used are inspired by the geometric patterns seen on the colorful clothing of the people, commonly known as Pattus. These are basically traditional shawls draped by a woman as a dress. The Pattus prevalent today came into being in 1940s, when the weavers from Shimla came to the Kullu Valley. These weavers greatly influenced the designs, colour combinations and the raw materials used by the local weavers.
All woolen fabrics for the season are in pure Australian merino, in close association with the weavers of Bhuttico – a handloom weavers cooperative society operating since 1944, known for weaving traditional kullu shawls and Pattus. Through this, we could see an amalgamation of Péro’s take on Bhuttico’s traditional weaves woven together in one story. Pattus are generally known for their bright colours. However keeping in mind the season’s colour palette, they stuck to shades of blue, khakhi and off-white, with accents of electric blue.
Péro Fall Winter 2019
Apart from playing with just traditional weaves, natural textiles are created using combinations of varied thicknesses of merino yarns in one weave. They’ve also handwoven and engineered jacquard houndstooth patterns running alongside a dynamic display of stripes and checks. The rustic quality of handwoven wool and Pattus is complemented by the other textiles for the season which have been developed in various other regions of India. For example, the linen-cotton stripes and checks are from West Bengal, the mashru stripes from Gujarat, the mulberry silks from the south of India and light chanderis from Madhya Pradesh.
Péro Fall Winter 2019
If you have a closer look at the pieces, you will notice a somewhat scribbled flower pattern. To compliment the geometric designs of Pattus, Péro has experimented with superimposed flocked flowers or free-hand embroidered wool flowers. A few pieces were further enhanced with the help of some ornamental needlework on these exaggerated blooms, adding a new twist to this winter.
Péro Fall Winter 2019
Péro’s unparalleled passion for imperfect textures brings us to a new contemporary dress code, which is mindful of history. Designer Aneeth Arora believes that it’s mandatory to make that leap from being too prim to breaking free into a new you.
Shop Péro at Le Mill
