Pretty florals to chic solids, the Myaraa by Namrata Lodha x Kate Stoltz collaboration has sent out a stylish line of travel-must hats and scarves. The Telegraph spoke to Namrata and Kate on their inspirations for the collection.
Namrata Lodha Sourced by the correspondent
Namrata, the collection has travel written all over it. And so chic! Tell us about the origin of the range...
In this pandemic, travel is something that all of us have been craving the most. Based on all of our personal desire to travel and see the world, our latest collaboration at Myaraa is with designer and model Kate Stoltz from New York. The collection draws from our collective cultural heritage seen through a global lens.
This coming together of an international sensibility for sustainable hats take place through a representation of prints depicting elegant happy places such as the quiet Montauk sand dunes in the summer, fragrant cherry blossoms in Central Park during spring and well-dressed Parisian sidewalk cafes in early September.
It is influenced by multiculturalism. As the world is shrinking and people are travelling more than ever, we are seeing cultures intersecting, new identities being created. Myaraa desires to be the epitome of multiculturalism, modern luxury from a modest perspective. Inspired by travel, culture, architecture and the lives of the diaspora communities, this collaboration is a symbol of many communities who left their homes for a better life and brought their own unique backgrounds to create new identities.
How did the collaboration with Kate Stoltz come about?
Kate Stoltz and I interacted first during February 2020 when we were working on a floppy hat for her upcoming trip to South Beach, Miami. Since then, we have been following each other’s work and journey. Then in the midst of the pandemic when everything came to a standstill and people stopped travelling and exploring the world, we thought our next collection’s theme would be travel. I then reached out to Kate with a proposal for a creative collaboration. Kate is a professional supermodel and trained fashion designer from New York. Her work and attention to details is impeccable. We quickly jumped on a Zoom call and shared our passion for customers, ethics in the fashion industry and love of travelling. Thereafter, a series of design sessions, meetings, emails and illustrations to work on this collaboration, followed.
What was the best part of working with her?
It’s so important in a collaboration to have a partner that’s willing to work out details to get the styles to a point where you both feel good about each piece. I’m grateful I found that in Kate. The best part was her elegance in her work, design and products. She will give candid feedback and expects the same on her designs. We challenged each other to bring out the best in each other, by making measurable differences from our design sessions to the final output.
The scarves add a touch of romance...
Not only do scarves keep your outfit in check, but also make you feel comfortable and warm in a sudden change of weather. Regarded as a girl’s best friend, scarves have outplayed their role as typical fashion accessory and have transcended to the position of essential items in every modern woman’s wardrobe. They provide comfort, are instant outfit changers, and style definers.
No matter whether you’re looking for that soft and chunky knit piece to keep your neck warm and make it through the colder days of the year, or the silky soft and lightweight alternatives for the hotter days, there’s the right scarf for you and your outfits.
There are some lovely photographs of women weaving hats. As a designer, is this collection a bit more gratifying for you, given the times we are in and how endangered our artisans are?
I couldn’t be more proud of our small but mighty women team. As a designer I feel a sense of accomplishment with this collection for two main reasons. Firstly, to make sure my artisans’ work is highlighted through these designs and secondly, they are able to be independent and stand back with pride in their micro-communities. Especially during such times when artisans are most impacted, they are able to share a piece of success with their families. Our entire team is super charged now to work on many more new designs and styles for upcoming seasons.
Can you give us some cool style tips with hats... from a brunch to a sundowner?
A straw hat is classic and elegant for all seasons. It can be paired with any outfit from a brunch to a sundowner. We suggest adding a scarf to it. Both hat and scarf are designed to be worn together or separately. This scarf and hat set was designed for sunny fall or spring days spent in the orchards or the beach, with the scarf being removed and worn as a light shawl once the sun sets and the earth chills. The scarf can be worn on the straw boater hat tied around the chin or simply tied at the back of the hat (with the scarf covering the eyelets) for a more conventional look. The vibrant flowers make this a great headband or addition to a white T-shirt and jeans, a blazer or dress. Meanwhile, the natural straw boater hat can be worn with our scarf or with your own silk scarf or ribbon.
Kate, is this your first collaboration with an Indian designer?
This is actually my first creative collaboration ever under the Kate Stoltz label. While I have always looked forward to collaborating with other brands and designers, my focus so far has been on building my bespoke gown and dress business until this opportunity arose.
Having the opportunity to work with a designer based in India really made me think about the way I want to produce products and do collaborations going forward. Ethical production and fair pay have been such an important part of my brand so far and I do everything I can with my resources to ensure the products I sell are made in fair conditions, but it is very difficult to do that when the artisans specialising in that product are based halfway around the world, especially for an emerging brand with a limited budget. Having a creative partner who is physically where the hats are made was such a relief.
Namrata has a community of female artisans in her workshop that make each hat by hand. This collaboration wasn’t simply about designing and selling a product… it was also about helping to keep the craft of making hats alive and providing jobs directly to the women that did the work.
What was the best bit about working with Namrata?
The best part about working with Namrata Lodha is her approach. She’s very calm and kind but has a steady vision for her brand and the direction she wants to take. We did this collaboration in the midst of Covid, starting back in February. Throughout everything that Namrata must have been going through with her family and her country in April, her communication remained positive and timelines were clearly communicated. I am a lifetime student and will always have so much to learn about the business of fashion, and Namrata continues to be an example for me with the way she brands her business and maintains a positive influence.
Kate, is this your first collaboration with an Indian designer?
This is actually my first creative collaboration ever under the Kate Stoltz label. While I have always looked forward to collaborating with other brands and designers, my focus so far has been on building my bespoke gown and dress business until this opportunity arose.
Having the opportunity to work with a designer based in India really made me think about the way I want to produce products and do collaborations going forward. Ethical production and fair pay have been such an important part of my brand so far and I do everything I can with my resources to ensure the products I sell are made in fair conditions, but it is very difficult to do that when the artisans specialising in that product are based halfway around the world, especially for an emerging brand with a limited budget. Having a creative partner who is physically where the hats are made was such a relief.
Namrata has a community of female artisans in her workshop that make each hat by hand. This collaboration wasn’t simply about designing and selling a product… it was also about helping to keep the craft of making hats alive and providing jobs directly to the women that did the work.
What was the best bit about working with Namrata?
The best part about working with Namrata Lodha is her approach. She’s very calm and kind but has a steady vision for her brand and the direction she wants to take. We did this collaboration in the midst of Covid, starting back in February. Throughout everything that Namrata must have been going through with her family and her country in April, her communication remained positive and timelines were clearly communicated. I am a lifetime student and will always have so much to learn about the business of fashion, and Namrata continues to be an example for me with the way she brands her business and maintains a positive influence.
(L-R) Brigitte Bardot, Twiggy, Jacqueline Kennedy
The scarves look gorgeous. Did you keep anything specific in mind?
It was important to me that each scarf would work well with the straw hat and also be wearable by itself. When Namrata initially approached me about doing straw boater hats with scarves, I immediately thought of iconic images of Brigitte Bardot wearing straw hats in South of France back in the ’60s. I wanted to capture that elegance and effortless style but in colours and textiles that women today could easily wear with their wardrobe.
I designed the scarves for classic places that I try to revisit on a regular basis where I already wear a hat. The breezy sand dunes of Montauk beach, a lunch at a Parisian outdoor cafe, a stroll through Central Park in the spring, a breezy boat ride or even apple picking in the Fall. I then pulled photos from those trips and created scarves that worked with the surroundings.
Are you a hat person? If yes, what do you love most about them?
As I became more aware of the importance of protection from the sun, hats have become an important part of my life. I spent summers as a child running around in the sun and not wearing any sunscreen, so I try to make up for those years by paying attention to wrinkle prevention and protection from direct sunlight.
Before I discovered Myaara, I often just grabbed a hat while walking out of the door. Her Instagram page filled with images of women pairing their Myaraa hats has inspired me to rethink the purpose of hats and use them as a way to complete an outfit instead of just protect my face from the sun. A hat dramatically elevates a look if it’s done correctly, so I’ve been playing around with hats a lot lately. It turns out they’re a lot of fun!
How do you like to accessorise your hats?
The hats in the Kate Stoltz X Myaara collection look incredible styled with a cute dress or a T-shirt and jeans. I often find myself researching fashion icons from the 1900s and find these incredible images of Twiggy, Brigitte Bardot, Jacqueline Kennedy and others wearing hats on an everyday basis. The easy and casual way they included them in their outfits is my inspiration when it comes to accessorising my own hats.
Can you give us some cool styles using scarves?
The Butterfly Skull Scarves are the most traditional scarves in the collection and work well with a pair of dress pants, a blazer and cashmere sweater or even just a T-shirt and jeans. They’re pretty lightweight but do make a nice shawl for an outdoor dinner or an event where the room might be chilly. The crepe satin scarves look great worn with a white blouse as a skinny scarf, while I love wearing the hand-embroidered floral scarf as a beautiful headband. Styling a scarf depends on the individual style of the person wearing them, so I encourage people to get creative.
Do you have any favourites from Indian fashion designers?
I rarely buy clothing these days since I’m so conscious of my consumption and I mostly wear samples from my own collection. Most of my shopping is window shopping. I find it very satisfying spending hours just touching the fabrics and looking at the techniques of my favourite pieces. However, I have been following Sabyasachi’s work for several years now… the intricate work on his gowns is so beautiful, I dream of owning one of his pieces. His style is immediately recognisable. I often think of his branding. Instead of trying to fit into mainstream design, he embraced his heritage and turned it into something to be celebrated. That to me is so inspiring in terms of design, culture and self-expression since I personally struggle with how much of my own heritage I want to bring into my own pieces.
Naeem Khan’s work is also one of my favourites. I was just flipping through a design magazine last week and one of his resort ’22 gowns, a black tulle with white sequin flowers, made me stop and think for a full five minutes about why it grabbed my attention the way it did. Those two designers, among many others, are what help me continue to believe in the power of good design and the importance of artisanship in fashion.
