Abhishek Dutta’s Indo-French project that started in the wake of the pandemic last year , made its international debut in Paris last month with a showcase at the Moulin Fidel gallery.
The project called ‘Poetic Journey: On the border of Virtual and Real’ in collaboration with French visual artist Livia Dudouit, and supported by Alliance Francaise du Bengale, was launched in Calcutta with the unveiling of Abhishek’s spring-summer’21 resortwear and partywear collection — Abhishek x Livia — in January this year. The collection was shot against the heritage architectural backdrop of Chandernagore, the former French colony and was inspired from Livia’s paintings of architectural designs. A homage to the connection shared by the two countries — India and France, it was a celebration of their heritage, architecture and culture.
Abhishek x Livia, later made its ramp debut in February with Abhishek’s first physical fashion show post lockdown, also one of the firsts to be held in Calcutta since the pandemic, on the beautiful rooftop of the Park Mansion in Park Street.
The Paris exhibit was presented by Livia from October 2 to 10. Installations of Abhishek’s outfits were put up along with Livia’s artwork that served as the inspiration for the garments’ design and framed stills of its Calcutta journey. The senator of Hauts-de-Seine, Philippe Pemezec, mayor of Plessis, Robinson, Jacques Perrin and deputy mayor in charge of culture, Beatrice Robin, were present at the opening of the exhibition on October 2.
Livia Dudouit
(L-R) Livia with deputy mayor in charge of culture, Beatrice Robin and the mayor of Plessis, Robinson, Jacques Perrin
The Moulin Fidel gallery in Paris where the the exhibition was presented by Livia.
Livia (right) with the senator of Hauts-de-Seine, Philippe Pemezec, at the exhibition
The installation of Abhishek’s outfit along with Livia’s drawings and photographs from Abhishek’s fashion shoot and fashion show in Calcutta displayed at the exhibit, in Paris. The Calcutta fashion show video and the film shoot was displayed inside the gallery space.
“This collaboration took the brand to Paris despite the hurdles of the pandemic. The initial plan of doing a proper runway had to be sacrificed due to Covid restrictions. But we definitely want to take the collaboration ahead and do it in a much bigger way. The process of creating this collection was a tedious and lengthy one but the outcome was beautiful. I am happy that it got accepted globally. This unique collaboration also builds a bridge to promote talents from different countries,” said Abhishek.
“ I am very proud to have been able to present this project in France. It gave me the opportunity to physically see the clothes for the first time and the transformation of my drawings into textile creations. It was an intense and wonderful discovery for me. I wanted to present this work in a collective exhibition to share my enthusiasm for the project and to show the links that can be forged between two countries, despite the very particular context. The originality of the clothes and the craftsmanship on the textile attracted many visitors. They found my graphic motifs and their transposition onto the clothes interesting,” said Livia.
Pictures: Abhishek Dutta and Livia Dudouit