'Moving Lines', by Manisha Parekh, produced at the KHOJ 'Ideas of Fashion' residency (2011)

The ‘Ideas of Fashion’ residency aimed to push a new approach to looking at fashion, taking the contemporary wearable garment to new heights. The foundation of this process was cross-disciplinary, motivated by political, social and economic realities -- inspiration was drawn from architecture, philosophy, science, history and technology. The residency and its by products examined the role that fashion plays in shaping one’s everyday realities and dreams. It explored the individual and collective processes that occur in the formation of an identity, whilst looking at self-perception and communication through fashion and clothing. The residency asked the following questions -- what is the role of perception in fashion? What is at play with the wearable garment? What is at stake? The history of fashion and its powerful, transformative role in the past and the present was also researched in the course of the residency.
Locating the meaning of fashion within the history of ideas, artist-in-residence, Manisha Parekh described her work, ‘Moving Lines’ in an artist’s statement issued in conjunction with the final ‘Ideas of Fashion’ exhibition, stating –
“The world of textiles and fabric has always been fascinating for me. This residency gave me a chance to explore further, into the world of Fashion with fellow fashion designers; it became possible to think of it with a larger meaning – as a philosophy – even as a social statement reflecting a time. For me the process of understanding the body to construct a garment was extremely engaging... It became a time to ask a few questions about myself, explore another language, interact with fellow artists and reflect on one’s own practice.”