After dropping teaser posts on Instagram for about a week, actress Anindita Bose finally revealed her new venture last week. Taking forward her passion for art, she has started her brand called Anindita Bose Art. Her launch collection is all about comfy T-shirts featuring her fun and quirky artwork inspired by everyday life and influenced by feminine energy. Done in monochrome shades of white and black, her new venture of conjoining art with fashion shows her efforts in making her art wearable and accessible. A t2 chat with Anindita on her new venture:
What made you want to venture into entrepreneurship with your art?
I don’t think I want to call it entrepreneurship because the term scares me a little and makes me sound very serious. I am not a very patient person also. The whole idea was to incorporate the two things I love the most — art and fashion. I love oversized T-shirts, especially, in this season which is so terribly hot. I literally cannot think of wearing anything that is not cotton or something which is extremely tight-fitted. So, I thought it was a great time for me to launch my brand and see how people respond to it.
I started with a very small batch. It has been just a week and more than half of my stock is sold out. It has been so overwhelming because I know people have been following my art and artwork for a long time. Maybe not too many people are still into purchasing art for their homes, so I thought that I could keep it more accessible for everyone to own a piece of my art. Now they wear it and they wear it in a very comfy way.
How long did you have it in your mind?
I started working on it last year. I have had it in my mind for three-four years. Especially when the pandemic hit, we were all stuck in our houses and that is when I started practising my art again. I was putting it out on social media. I saw how people were reacting to it and starting conversations around it. Some resonated with it and that is what intrigued me. Doing exhibitions is of course there. But this is more of my way of putting my artwork out there.
What inspired you to pursue art so actively again?
I was practising art throughout my acting career as well but couldn’t give it enough attention because my attention was always divided. Practising artwork was getting sidelined. During the pandemic, all of us were going through so many emotions. I was away from my family and friends. I am someone who is not so vocal with my emotions and feelings and cannot write them down. For me, I used to keep sketching every single day just to keep myself on track. It was my way of doing self-therapy on myself. That is how the daily practice started during the pandemic.
What do you like to express mostly through your artwork?
It can be anything. It can be an everyday thing or a funny incident that I witnessed on a particular day. I like to visualise it in my head, live with it in my head and sketch it out. Most of it is feminine. I feel that the last three-four years helped me to find myself. It was the pandemic that helped me to understand myself way better in these three-four years than how it was previously. Hence a lot of it is way feminine and it is about owning your power, your strength and self-love. Trying to find perfection in imperfection. I belong to a field (acting) where everything is the opposite. Everything has to be pretty and perfect. That can get so exhausting. I have been doing this for 15 years and I am always thinking what will happen when I step out.
There’s a point in your life when you are just exhausted and you say to yourself that I am going to own whatever I am. Of course, be presentable but also be mindful, don’t go out like a homeless person but also don’t get weighed down by societal norms of beauty. All these things in my head helped me to make my artwork. But it is also inspired by something very random. I was holidaying with my sisters in Goa and saw a man eating crabs. And I thought he had killed so many crabs, so maybe one day a crab would come and kill him! And I ended up drawing that he is enjoying on a beach and a crab is holding his toe. It can be something as random as that also. But it is mainly the feminine energy, our idea of power and our idea of beauty.
Have you always been a fashionista? Was there any change in your source of inspiration in trying to make your art wearable?
I don’t think I was always a fashionista. I have always followed what I am comfortable with. And since I am an artist, colour palette is very important to me. Even when I am going out for grocery shopping… it is colour-coordinated. I am never in a yellow pant and a red T-shirt. That’s by default. But of course, being in the industry for so long and having to be presentable has made me follow a lot of trends and fashion. The material and the cuts that I use are influenced by it.
Most of the artwork that I made is two or one year old and is made out of experience. I wanted to do fashion but wasn’t sure what it would be when I made those. But of course, out of all the artwork, I had to make sure to print something that would look good on a T-shirt, is wearable and has a meaning. So I had to do a lot of trial and error rounds regarding which print would look better on which material.
Who is your fashion line catering to?
I feel anyone and everyone who resonates with my artwork or something that Anindita Bose conveys, which is self-love.
What are your plans with Anindita Bose Art?
As of now only fashion. I will incorporate crop tops and nice cotton shirts with my designs for summer. For winter, we will take out a winter line of hoodies with my artwork for this year. I will also be working on my website and selling my original artwork. I have very few products so I haven’t started the website yet. We will go live with the website once I have more products. For now, people can order through our Instagram page. We are shipping all over India.