From a young metalhead to India’s leading Spatial Designer, Aaquib Wani has captured the imagination of thousands. 

: How did you start your creative journey?

: I think it all dates back to when my Dad was running his business of Kashmiri shawls and carpets. So essentially, karigars would come home and ask my dad for the briefs and come back after 6 months with a complete piece. To me that was incredibly interesting - they never went to any design school or fashion school but they were creating these incredible carpets and pieces. That was my first interaction with design. During school, I was never a good student and I struggled with school heavily. I never really had any interest in academics. I spent most of my time in the art room through the years. At the same time, I discovered Metallica through a Russian channel that used to come on the tv and my brother played the guitar - so one thing led to another and I ended up learning and playing the guitar, and I thought I’d become a guitarist in the future. I finished school and continued pursuing music and started my band “Phobia” - we started playing gigs and college competitions! That’s when I thought, we should promote these events. This led to making artworks for my own band and other bands started asking me to make their artworks and posters. At the same time, the Indian magazine Rock Street Journal approached me to join them as an design intern. This was comforting because my parents were content that I was in college but was also earning a living! Growing up in a Kashmiri house, doing anything creatively is a distant dream - they, along with most Indian families want their kids to be doctors or engineers. Rock Street Journal let me work on the magazine layouts and covers for the free CD’s that would come with the magazines, moving onto Magazine covers. This sort of led to me becoming the go-to guy for album artworks and designs for other bands in the Independent scene. That really helped in my creative energy and it cemented that I could do something on my own. I later realized that I was always creative, breaking down toys and rebuilding them, making planes out of thermaocol etc., I was always curious. It just took time to make that into a career.

: How did you go from doing work for Rock Street Journal and making album covers for bands to solely working on design?

: After RSJ, I started working with a spatial design company. I worked there for around 5 years and it was during this time where I had the dream of having my own studio. In 2014, our band played its last gig and I got really busy in the design work that I was doing. I was just learning. Once I joined Sumant Jaykrishnan’s design studio, I learnt the aesthetics of design. Everyone including my boss was a designer and once I started working there, I realized that I could make stuff I wanted to make, but if someone approached me to make something, I wouldn’t have really been able to do it. This transition also took place in this design studio. I was still working as a graphic designer in spatial design, but it was surreal to see artworks in huge huge spaces - a hundred times bigger than I imagined. But this was where I felt that I learnt about design. They had an amazing collection of books. All the projects we did were theme based, so if we got a wedding that was venetian or Gatsby based, I learnt about those design styles and that’s what I absolutely loved. At the same time, I wasn’t completely fulfilled with the work, so I started doing freelance work on the side as well. I just didn’t want to do the same mundane thing. This one time, I did one of a spatial construction gig with an events company called Homegrown. I was unsure about how to make it work, but I went with my gut and the aesthetic worked. With the success of that and more work that I was getting on the side, by 2018 - I decided to leave the studio and continue on my own. The freelance gigs really helped me push myself and give me opportunities that I would’ve never gotten. By 2018, I figured out that I wanted to largely work in spatial design space and create and establish my own studio.

: What is also interesting thing is that you had the graphic design space tapped in, but you also started making Jackets and more fashion based projects. How did that shift come about? Was it deliberate?

: That was a very interesting project! It was completely out of the blue. I had actually bought a fake Burberry Jacket and it had torn to bits, but I didn’t want to throw it away. I thought before throwing it away, I’d try something with it. I got in touch with a local street sign painter and I directed the ideas to him, took inspirations from some Gucci floral patterns and told him to come up with whatever he can. When I put that jacket on social media, everyone wanted one of their own! Soon, a lot of media and publication websites started writing about it. My main goal along with it was also to bring light to Indian art forms and bring the experience back to them because of fast fashion taking over. Without even knowing what to do, it worked out really well! Once I saw that need, I continued working on that because if people liked it, I could continue making it.

: That was a very interesting point in time because people in India weren’t really into fashion that much, but people were really interested in this idea of reworking and introducing art into the process.

: Absolutely! And unbeknownst to me, this idea was incredibly sustainable! I didn’t want people to come and buy new clothes, but I wanted people to send their old clothes to have them reworked. All the money was given directly to the artisans. I just saw myself as a designer doing something small for the community.

: Fast forward to 2021/22, I saw Jaywalking’s new store and then subsequently the Almost God’s store, I figured out that this was done by you! So how did these projects come about? It was also interesting because these spaces were permanent, as opposed to projects that you’d done in the past that were semi-permanent.

: These projects were also very similar to older projects. The teams at the brands hit my studio up and we went ahead with it! We had never done a fashion store before and it was a challenge! It eventually ended up opening a lot of gates for us and ended up with a lot more permanent space projects. It was more of taking whatever opportunity comes and making the most about it. It was also a different challenge because when you’re creating temporary setups, you’re thinking of the kind of materials that are easy to use because they don’t have to last for a long period of time. When it comes to a permanent space, you have to think about cement, woodwork, electricity, glass etc. the way of working is completely different in that sense. People also reach out to me because my studio does quirky, different things as opposed to other design studios. We always end up delivering that extra edge. When we did the Almost Gods store, I met Dhruv, the Creative Director of the brand, we just had a very small conversation and he already wanted me to design the store. He didn’t even look at my work - without even knowing if I did interior spaces or not.

For me, Almost Gods turned out to be one of the best projects ever - right from the story to the narrative, to the final product. I was recently at the store and we saw people walking in and their jaws dropping. I saw a small kid running and just starting at the Griffin - and this is what I always want to do with my work! This was the 4th design that got finalized. We always want to make it work in a scenario where both the designer and the client come together to create a story. This worked very well with the space. Even today, even if people don’t know the brand - they check the store out and keep coming back.

: It was really interesting also to see both the Jaywalking store and the Almost Gods store, considering the former is completely minimal and the latter is as maximal as can be. So how is your usual process of creating a space?

: The process usually starts with a questionnaire round that starts with the brand, get some keywords from the brand and get some specific ideas along with the same. Initially for Almost Gods, the first idea was to create a church like space with a confessions room and a cyborg type sculpture with wires etc, but then they came back to us and told us that they liked the idea but wanted to expand on more and create other ideas. We sat on a bunch of meetings, sketched a bunch of ideas. Eventually, we looked at Petra and the concept of carving a space out of stone. It matched with the collection they were launching as well because there was emphasis on Paleolithic stones and mythological elements. Because the space is also not that huge, there’s not much movement. But we had the ceiling height and that’s where the Griffin came from. We also looked at other space and ideas that brands used - especially the concept stores of Gentle Monster. They have this bakery thing that they’re doing on the side and that’s what I wanted to do as an experiential designer! We were lucky to find Dhruv who wanted to do something as experiential. We then started with the production of the store - started with 3D mounds and then eventually constructed the store in full.

: There’s a lot of brands that have pop-ups and sections they have in malls and then there’s a different league of brands like Rick Owens, Margiela or Chrome Hearts where the stores also serve as part of the brand identity and the clothes. So that being said, when you think about graphic design as owing to Fashion and other art forms, what role does it play in expressing that concept?

: I’m still very much a graphic designer in its core. It is essential to my practice as everything I do is visual. Communication is something that I have learnt over the years, seeing what works and doesn’t work in the frame. The ideas of, what is the main hero of your frame, how are you supporting that with everything else in the background etc. All of these things that I have learnt through graphic design have stayed with me with any other art forms I have delved into. So even if it is say a Photobooth, or an experiential demo for Adidas, it’s all about how it works visually - and that for me comes from graphic design. Be it Jackets, interiors, weddings etc. the graphic design impetus is front and centre. And it’s something I keep practicing. Even during the lockdown, because we didn’t really have any major work - we made a lot of passion projects, for example, creating ten different wedding ideas. These are just things we keep doing to work on new and different ideas and keep it fresh.

: How did the Forbes 30 under 30 list feature come about? That must have definitely been an experience!

: Honestly, it wasn’t even a dream, because I always felt that this was for kids who were way more educated than me and weren’t like me who were creatives and artists. You’ve already put yourself at a stage that is lower than most people. Sure, people like my work but there are hundreds of designers out there. But just a couple of months before turning 30, I applied for the list, I didn’t have anything to lose. The entire process was very lengthy - they wanted to ask me where all we were featured in articles. They checked if the articles were paid or not, they checked my company turnover and profits. All of these things really matter to be in there. I wasn’t thinking that anything would happen. After a couple of months, they contacted me and told me that I made it to the list. I literally had tears in my eyes because I had never thought I’d be a part of it. To be featured along with so many people who are so incredibly talented was amazing and also to be the first Kashmiri to be a part of the list was surreal. It really validated all the work that I’d done in the past. I always had self-doubt with anything that I worked on, but when that happened - to have a body like Forbes saying that there was as merit in this, I was really emboldened. Even my parents were elated.

: I think over everything, that’s what we as Indian people want, even Forbes isn’t as important as the validation from our parents!

: Haha absolutely! Even when I got into the list, it wasn’t that relatable to them. When I also got featured in regional Kashmiri newspapers, that’s when my parents were incredibly happy!

: That’s amazing! But what is even more interesting to me is that even after all of the work you’ve done, you’re now entering the NFT space as well with your reworked jackets! How did this come about? Did you want to hold off on the NFT space or was it again just a natural process?

: I had planned out a complete NFT series but I didn’t want to really do it because I felt that people were just clout chasing and doing it for the sake of doing it. But with this project, I wanted to bring attention back to the artisans and this time, also get them to do something new! They’re sort of tired of the generational process as well. This was very heart-breaking for me because if this is the last generation of these crafts, these crafts will fade into non-existence. So I wanted to do something interesting for them too! Slowly I realized, all the kids with the resources can reach the metaverse space, but they wouldn’t have any access! I just decided to jump into the space for these reasons. A lot of artisans came on board, artisans who made lehengas, home cushions etc and shine the light on them also! The idea was to support the movement not just physically but also in the metaverse space. The jacket we recently put up was made for RJ Abhinav (Radio Jockey) that he wore at Cannes, so I decided to put that up as an NFT so that there’s more to it than just one person wearing it and flaunting it.

: Absolutely! I think pieces have way more value than just their design language physically. That being said, what is in store for you for the future?

: Massive massive things! But we sadly can’t let those details out yet! They will be announced in a couple of months. But we’re going to be doing a lot of music festivals and creating spaces there. Most of this year is music festivals. It’s always a comfortable space because of me being a musician and I want to be the go-to guy for festivals and the music industry as well as a design guy, because it’s all about communication and I want to bring that communication to the wider frame in India. But let’s see where it goes, I would love to design an experiential store with Louis Vuitton or any other brand like that which welcomes these design elements.

From Graphic Design to

Spatial Design Perfection

From a young Metalhead to designing experiences at the Ambani wedding, Aaquib Wani has come a long way from his early design days. Now, the Forbes 30 under 30 recipient has entered the Fashion world in full swing, designing a myriad of stores for the well known and up and coming Streetwear and Fashion brands in India! In our conversation with him, we talked about his journey, how he developed a penchant for graphic design and what that resulted in.

Director Richard sat down with us and explained his artistic journey in the film industry and gave us incredible insight on his short film ‘Soulmate’.

: How did your artistic journey progress?

: So in college, I was studying Graphic Design and Advertising, but I was constantly sneaking into the film department and learning all there was to learn about the linear tape-based editing system they had in those days. By the time I ended my course, I had a weird mix of Motion Graphics, a few film projects and traditional graphic design projects on paper. At that time, it was really tricky to find a company that would accommodate that mix. I ended up working for a company called ‘Static’, who specialised in broadcast design and who were ahead of the curve. But a couple of years out of there, I started my own company called “OS2”, which was all about using new digital technology to make films. We were just being as experimental as we could to see what happened. Out of that, I ended up in the music industry shooting Music Videos by 2000.

: That’s incredibly interesting! I feel like that was the absolute golden era of music videos.

: Oh absolutely, it really was! I feel like I mostly came in towards the end of that era and once the scene sort of died down and performance videos flooded the market, I moved towards dance acts – where you could get away with NOT doing performance videos! I was inspired by Chris Cunningham, Spike Jones etc. and that was kind of my path into narrative filmmaking.

: Being a Graphic Design student, did that help you in your process of figuring out what you wanted to do eventually?

: I never forgot about Graphic Design, but I sort of progressively moved to live action. I think everything I do is informed by Graphic Design. It is a really good core creative discipline. It’s really more about the person than the discipline though. If you have graphic design sensibilities, you will be drawn to it at some time or the other and it just helps develops your habits of organisation, order, composition, the merging of lots of visual elements, and the development of good taste (usually).

: Your new upcoming short film ‘Soulmate’ is a very interesting Sci-fi based look into AI and philosophy at large. What is it about Sci-fi that excites you?

: I think what I’m most interested in when it comes to Sci-fi is that the future will change us and we have to work out how we’re going to adapt to that. I like to do thought experiments into that. That is sort of the main concept behind Soulmate - where will relationships go as soon as we have technology that can tempt us with something that appears human? Especially if it is mimicking us perfectly or has possibly become sentient… Can it displace and improve upon our human relationships? And at the same time, we as a race seem to be getting further away from being comfortable with real relationships… loneliness is a problem of epidemic proportions!

Anyway, it’s the freedom that you get with Sci-fi to explore fascinating stories that makes it incredibly fresh. People have said to me that Soulmate conceptually feels like a mix between Spike Jones’ ‘Her’ and an episode of Black Mirror and I’m completely fine with those connections. But I hope it also offers a new narrative and sits in an honest space about relationships and what they might look like in 15-20 years. Plus, how technology probably sits at the core of it all.

: It’s also interesting to note that the short is written from the perspective of a Female character. What was that like?

: I hadn’t thought about that too much, but probably my reasoning for that was that if it’s from a female perspective it’s going to be more about the relationship. while if it’s from the male perspective, the first thing men are going to do in these VR will be related to sex and I think that’s quite boring and obvious.

I think if technology gets to a point where we’re struggling to figure out whether something is real or artificial, or if a relationship really is about love or not, then, can it be, and more importantly should it be? And what are we going to do about that? My character is constantly wrong-footed with this idea that her emotions feel real, so she feels she needs to pursue the relationship. At the same time, the law doesn’t allow that in my story. In the film the simulation is only supposed to be a study to observe the development of AI. That’s the framework and she works as a backend coder but has found this relationship that starts to become quite precious to her. I found that quite fascinating. On the surface, people can watch it as a love story - but underneath it’s about tech addiction and the technological singularity – i.e. where technology is going to lead us when it’sleading and we’re following.

: What is interesting is that Soulmate is a critique on technology, but you’re inherently using new technology to make it. What interested you about Visual and Special Effects and how did that guide your process in making the film?

: The most important thing for me was to create the simulation as live action footage so it looks real. I wanted to get past the “Ready Player One” look. Games and processing power are heading in just one direction and that’s absolute photorealism. The entire concept of realism is a given for me. So I didn’t want to do technology for technology’s sake. The simulation is filmed as live action in live action environments. Then the post production comes in and fill in the blanks: For scenes where there are screens and interfaces I would say my graphic design / motion design background really helped create those environments for the script. I’m working with a company called Territory studio, who have championed Graphic User Inferfaces for a good time now. They’re leading edge and, to me, have almost singlehandedly propelled GUI’s to the next level - starting with their ground-breaking work on Ridley Scott’s ‘Prometheus’. All of the stuff they do helps the story and I’m really comfortable with that ethos due to my own design background.

: Are you still making storyboards on paper or have you inculcated technology into that process?

: I’m more used to creating storyboards on paper still I’m afraid. That’s the norm for me. At the same time, I understand the sheer advantage of using technology to propel project visualisation forward. You can use an Ipad and have really great visuals very quickly. For me, I still resort to taking a pic of my drawings and having that ready to go instead!

: What do you think are the advantages of technology and technological advancement?

: I think there’s pros and cons to everything. It’s always exciting to look into the disadvantages for dramatic work and see where a story can go. That’s certainly more interesting for writers and filmmakers. But the advantages, I’d say, are, well, the sheer level of choice – everyone is catered for now – and the ability to find like minded people and be part of a niche that once would have felt impossible. That’s a huge thing. I mean, the sheer level of connectivity between human beings is now remarkable – again not always positive though! There’s also definitely a lot of advantages to what technological progress has done, and will do, for us as we try to solve the world’s ongoing problems.

: Lastly, what is in store for the future?

: Other than the release of Soulmate, I want to work on my feature films! I’ve been writing feature scripts for a while now and have 3 developed stories, but I want to do them properly. If that takes 10 years from start to finish that’s okay. I personally would like the first one done within 2-3 years but feature films need time and dedication to ensure they’re done properly. I also want the ideas I explore to be relevant and provide something new, just like the subject matter of Soulmate.

The Depths of AI

With Richard Fenwick

Originally a Graphic Design and Advertising student, even Richard Fenwick didn’t know how his career path would chalk out, but it would turn out that his eagerness to learn different art forms surged by technology would lead him to a course unlike many others. Now, a Writer / Director, Richard sat down with us and explained his artistic journey in the film industry, how he progressed from one art form to another and eventually, gave us incredible insight on his brand new short film titled ‘Soulmate’, the intriguing title that lets viewers into a philosophical conundrum about how they feel about Artificial Intelligence, Consciousness and the technological singularity.

Augmented Reality has strongly grown into a sphere in Fashion that is not only grabbing the headlines, but has also been the most boundary pushing. 

How did you get into Art, Design and Fashion?

I’ve always been interested in fashion and customising clothing. I used to get inspired seeing Tyler the Creator use a simple black marker to turn his Odd Future merch into unique garments and I’d do the same thing with my clothes. Art I fell into by mistake, I took Graphic Design at College thinking it was Woodwork and never looked back.

 Painting is a very heavy aspect in your artistic work, where did the love of painting come from and what did it teach you?

I never really thought about this before but I guess I’m emulating people I look up to. I take a lot of inspiration from Basquiat and he uses a lot of oil sticks on canvas and I like the idea of using a traditional method like paint on canvas with the modern twist of technology.

Expressing yourself using paint is the pinnacle of creativity, there’s a flow-like state you enter where the whole world is blocked out and you’re focused on what’s in front of you. It’s a meditative state and I rather enjoy it.

 When did you decide to quit your previous job and make the shift to Augmented Reality? What drove you to it?

It wasn’t any big Hollywood move where I dramatically quit and hustled my way towards a career. It was always the goal to use my last job to learn as much as I can about business and then quit pursuing art. I even told them that in my job interview. I started off full time, then down to 4 days, 3, days, 2 days, was put on furlough, and then finally handed in my notice.

 You’ve worked for a lot of big brands and big names in the recent years. How did you end up forming those relationships?

This is where I can not stress enough the importance of a Personal Brand. People want to work with people they like and want to trust that you’re the right person to rely on. If you are impossible to find then how can anyone work with you? There are certainly better artists and AR creators out there but I work a lot on ‘getting myself out there’. The fact that 100% of my collaborations have come through LinkedIn or Instagram proves the value in investing time and effort into putting yourself out there.

 How did it feel to have your work showcased in Times Square in New York?

It’s a crown jewel in the portfolio for now and certainly has opened up a lot of opportunities for me, but I prefer the making of the artwork rather than the final piece. I’m more excited about the ideas I haven’t started yet or the projects I’m currently working on and as the expectations get bigger, so do the ideas.

 Considering you’ve been working so heavily with AR and brands, do you think we will see more AR-based garments and experiences from luxury brands?

I certainly hope so! There’s no evidence to suggest that brands are going to stop investing in digital fashion, it’s more of question of who will do it best and how far will it go. I think most brands are working on a digital garment strategy for 2023. In fact, I know brands are because they’re the sort of collaboration invites currently coming in.

 What advice would you give to artists and creators looking to get into the world of Augmented Reality?

Make sure you’re getting into AR because you’re interested in it, not just because it’s popular at the moment. If you’re interested in it then make the worst AR effect you can possibly make. Hopefully, you’ll learn how easier it is without any pressure to produce something amazing and then you can try and make a second effect that’s slightly better.

I’d like to produce more artwork and build a body of work separate and brand collaborations, build upon ‘Doddz the Artist’, and see where it takes me.

With his recent show unofficially closing London Fashion Week, Doddz presented a myriad of AR based pieces that ended with a show that many thought wouldn’t work as well as it did. As model’s calmly walked down the runway, attendees witnessed the collection on their phones through an AR filter that beautifully projected clothes onto the models. Accompanied with a strong message talking about the excess in fashion and how harmful fast fashion is to the world, Doddz showcased a unique amalgamation of Reality with Augmented Reality and how that could look in the near future. For how unconventional the entire working of Doddz’s artistic vision is, it’s implementation is certainly making people focus on the extent of power virtual fashion has as an expression of art and design.

Augmenting Art into

a new Reality with Doddz

Augmented Reality has strongly grown into a sphere in Fashion that is not only grabbing the headlines, but has also been the most boundary pushing avenue in terms of evolution in fashion currently. With many delving into the Virtual Fashion space, only a few designers like Doddz has created a brand that is known for its augmented reality prowess. An eclectic designer relying on his own virtual understanding of art, Doddz is creating a mark on the fashion world that is very unique. We sat down for a conversation with the UK designer about his work and the method behind the madness.

Articles

Articles

Articles

Articles

Articles

Articles

Articles

Articles

Articles

Articles