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“I just have a really sweet tooth, and when creating work about such serious issues, sometimes I think it’s nice to sweeten it up a bit,” says Priya Ahluwalia, the London-based designer whose new limited-edition photography tome Jalebi examines various strands of the designer’s work in a visual exploration of what it means to be a mixed-heritage person living in Britain’s tumultuous present.

Lionised for her nostalgic colour palettes and using exclusively deadstock materials, Ahluwalia founded her namesake label in 2018 and has in a short time since won the H&M Design Award 2019, collaborated with Adidas, has been awarded the joint winning LVMH Prize 2020 and has recently been included in Matchesfashion Innovators programme.

Following her first publication, Sweet Lassi, which addressed the fashion industry’s wasteful approach to consumption and production, Jalebi moves “back and forth between imagined and real,” documenting and imagining lives of people through the designer’s eyes.

Accompanied by 3D, VR exhibition and photographed by Laurence Ellis, the project provokes dialogue about the themes of sustainability and diversity. “I hope Jalebi shows the brilliant nuances about our mixed communities and how we learn so much from each other when our minds are open,” Ahluwalia comments. “I also hope that people learn that just because someone has travelled to another land for another life, it does not mean that they deserve to suffer discrimination and systemic racism,” she adds. “Anyone who wants a just and fair society should be outraged at this.”

Celebrating the beauty of diversity and the importance of family, your limited-edition photography tome is very much on the spot because of the current global uncertainty. When and how did you come up with the idea for the book?
Laurence and I came up with the idea of Jalebi as Britain was (and still is) going through a particularly unfriendly time towards people from heritages that weren’t Western European. I wanted to do a project that celebrated how diversity actually enriches communities and creates really interesting relationships, areas and even graphics.
Your first book, which addressed the fashion industry’s wasteful approach to consumption and production was called Sweet Lassi. The second book is named Jalebi. Is there a reasoning behind naming your books after sweets?
I just have a really sweet tooth, and when creating work about such serious issues, sometimes I think it’s nice to sweeten it up a bit. Sweet lassi and jalebi have been two of my favourite treats since I was a kid.
What message do you hope to convey through Jalebi?
I hope Jalebi shows the brilliant nuances about our mixed communities and how we learn so much from each other when our minds are open. I also hope that people learn that just because someone has travelled to another land for another life, it does not mean that they deserve to suffer discrimination and systemic racism and they actually face so much hostility.
For Jalebi, you have collaborated with Laurence Ellis, Jamie Perlman, Riccardo Maria Chiacchio and Troy Casting. How did they inform your creative process and the final outcome of the project?
They were all integral for the project’s success. I have always loved Laurence’s work and his sensitivity to different cultures and people’s stories; he also grew up around Southall, so he has a really good understanding of the area. Jaime’s input really inspired the layout and mood of the book, she was so good at bringing the story together in a poignant way. Riccardo is an amazing visual storyteller and was so good at composing the ‘imagined’ images in the book so they felt really emotional and otherworldly. Troy worked fervently on the amazing casting. Jalebi is all about the people and without his dedication to finding amazing families and traders to photograph, it wouldn’t have been the same.

How does your Indian-Nigerian heritage influence you aesthetically and in terms of methods you utilise in your design process?
It influences my work heavily as it is the life I live, so I guess it happens without me realising as well as me consciously looking to it. I love the vibrancy of both countries; the energy in Lagos at night is electric, and in India, their dedication to craftsmanship is amazing. I think those things fuse together in my designs.
Your label uses deadstock and repurposed vintage materials. How much do your materials affect or limit your design aesthetic?
It can make the production process really difficult. For, example for the Spring/Summer 2020 show, we used a lot of vintage and deadstock grey tracksuits, and then when it came to production, it was nearly impossible to find any anywhere! I managed to figure it out in the end, but it can definitely slow things down.
You have rightly mentioned that it is not possible for one designer to revolutionise the irresponsible fashion system that has been in place for decades. In your opinion, what measures should luxury conglomerates take to reform their practices?
I actually think the main responsibility lies at the feet of high street and internet fast fashion brands that pump out thousands of units a week with no consideration of the garments’ longevity or the lives of the people making them. In luxury, there is at least longevity.

You have mentioned in an interview that sustainability is a privilege. Could you expand on that?
To make things sustainable, it is often more expensive, and this cost must be passed onto consumers. Not everyone can afford this. I would not ask a low earning key worker that’s a single parent of three children to stop buying t-shirts for £5 and spend £100 instead; it’s ludicrous and insensitive. The responsibility lies at the feet of the companies pumping out fast fashion at the expense of the planet, in favour of astronomic profit to reconsider how they are making their £5 t-shirts.
How has Covid-19 and the health crisis affected your relatively young brand?
It was really scary in the beginning and I was so worried about what would happen but, luckily, projects were just paused and nothing was really cancelled. It did mess up our production chain but that has started to recover now. It did give me time to think and realise that I can do things on my own terms, I don’t have to follow the usual cycle of everything.
In the short period since the establishment of your label in 2018, you’ve been featured in the Forbes 30 under 30 European Arts and Culture list, have won the H&M Design Award 2019, have collaborated with Adidas and have been awarded the joint winning LVMH Prize 2020. How do you hope your label will evolve from here?
It has already been two years of unbelievable milestones. I just can’t believe it sometimes. I just hope I can continue to grow a healthy business with a strong team and get to do some more amazing projects.




Words
Nini Barbakadze
Photos
Laurence Ellis

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