What you wear tells a lot about who you are. So wouldn't you want to be defined by a T-shirt that's resplendent in Indian-ness and yet has all the nuances of contemporary art? Like a woman clad in a sari sporting sunglasses? Or how about one sipping a cup of tea while sneaking a glance at you? If this sounds like your aesthetic, you should definitely check out the new brand in town, Malavika and Vidhi. Actually, Malavika Sivaraju and Vidhi Gupta were friends back in NASR School. But life took 24-year-old Vidhi to London where she pursued her Master's in Textile Design from the University of the Arts London while 25-year-old Malavika pursued her Bachelor's in Architecture from Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University, Hyderabad. During the lockdown, they both connected over their shared love for art again and, thus, their brand Malavika and Vidhi came to be last month (though we should add that the idea has been marinating for some time now). They have sold around 100 T-shirts and 200 books so far. They are currently working on their own website while they retail via IG too
.JPG?w=640&auto=format%2Ccompress)
"It all started when we realised that we both like bright colour palettes and how interested we were in seeing our art on merchandise because that always makes art so much more accessible and relatable," says Malavika, while Vidhi adds, "We are also stationery junkies and hoarder of notebooks, so we thought we should definitely put out notebooks too." They have been collaborating since November 2020, sometimes over custom artwork and other times over wall murals and Malavika and Vidhi, the brand, is the fruit of their most recent collaboration, which they promise is going to bear many other fruits in the future. Also, half the proceeds from their T-shirt and notebook sales, priced at `850 and `350 respectively, go to Hyderabad Children's Aid Society.
"The collection itself is inspired by photographs of vintage women, fused with pops of colour," explains the duo. The inspiration is also Soul Talk, the title they have given the 20-odd-minute conversations they have right before they plunge into the world of art. They talk about everything under the sun and everything that lurks in the shadows of their mind too. "Whoever wears our T-shirts, we want them to vibe with it," say the spunky girls. While the T-shirts are painted against a stark white background, the 100-page notebooks are of 120 GSM paper. Their work is a far cry from the mass-produced stuff that we tend to get lured by. But if you want to really stand out, Malavika and Vidhi's T-shirts and notebooks are the way to go.
For more on them check out instagram.com/malavikaandvidhi
