Rhea Singh is a fashion design student at SAIC currently pursuing her BFA. She understands fashion as a way that allows her concepts to be placed in an environment that can be controlled by the human body. Her concepts revolve around the idea of cultural sustainability as she brings her heritage and practice into the contemporary design culture. Rhea was a print artist before she decided to get into fashion, and it became her medium to stay connected to her culture. She was born in Poland and grew up in Singapore, but stays connected to where home is supposed to be through her design process. She works a lot with prints, both traditional and digital methods to build a story within each garment.
Singh 2022 Junior Collection, All 3 looks
Agnivanshi, Look 1
Agnivanshi are the people who claim descent from Agni, the Hindu God of fire. Agni is one of the five inert impermanent elements, along with space, water, air, and earth. The five elements combined to form the perceived material existence. Agni is seen as the divine personification of the fire of sacrifice and a messenger between the human and the divine. Further inspiration was taken from the depiction of Agni, the flame and structure around him.
Chandravanshi, Look 2
Chandra, the lunar deity was originally a feminine deity. Today Chandra has been depicted in a male form in many sculptures as a symptom of the patriarchal dominance in Hindu society. She represents fertility, drawing back to its origins as the mother goddess of the universe. This look further takes inspiration from the movement of the clouds and the wind that surrounds Chandra.
Suryavanshi, Look 3
The sun is a symbol of knowledge, power and clarity. Suryavanshi or the solar dynasty is one of the dynasties that created the Kshatriya. In Hinduism, the sun is a vital force of the universal energy that passes through the chakra system and results in karma. Further inspiration was taken from the structure of the lotus petals that Surya sits on.
Suryavanshi and Agnivanshi, Look 1 and Look 3
Suryavanshi and Chandravanshi, Look 2 and look 3
Singh 2022 Junior Collection, All three Looks
Print details and meaning for look 1
Print details and meaning for look 2
Print details and meaning for look 3
My surname ‘Singh’ translates to “warrior” and “lion” in India. You can trace it back to the 15th century, the beginning of the Mughal Empire, but it goes back further. My ancestors came from the Kshatriya caste. The caste of soldiers. Three dynasties make up the Kshatriya caste, Suryavanshi (the solar dynasty), Chandravanshi (the lunar dynasty), Agnivanshi ( the fire dynasty). My ancestors come from the solar dynasty.
How does a designer who has grown up in the 21st century understand the stories of a 15th-century surname that she carries? Our surname holds an identity and a great deal of importance in my culture.
This collection takes inspiration from each of the three gods and goddesses that created the Kshatriya caste. There is also a conversation between the construction of traditional Indian womenswear and modern-day men’s wear. Power and identity came from the construction of clothing, the print, the type of fabric, and lastly, your surname.
My junior year collection takes inspiration from each of the three gods that created the Kshatriya caste but is channeled through the designs that I grew up in. There is also a conversation between the construction of traditional Indian womenswear and modern-day menswear. Each garment is constructed by integrating the patterns of traditional lehengas into patterns of modern-day menswear blazers. Created using raw Indian silk and a poly-wool blend suit fabric, carefully printed using woodblocks from India. Each garment is a conversation between my heritage, the power given through the construction of traditional clothing, and the god from the dynasty, all through the eyes of a 21st-century designer.