Sarwarish has established himself as a leading designer with regard to both furniture design and accessory design.
Collaborating with a variety of fellow designers and brands, as well as incorporating the use of advanced technology and equipment, have led to Sarwarish carving out his own unique space within contemporary design. He also strives to maintain a consistent connection to the culture of his home country and the details of everyday life there.
Below, you’ll find Omega Underground’s interview with this endlessly interesting designer, and we feel that Sarwarish’s comments serve as thoughtful commentary on much of his work.
Special thanks to Sarwarish for making the time for this interview, and as always, thank you for reading.
Would you say that your style has remained relatively consistent, or does it continue to evolve over time?
Sarwarish: I would say it has and will evolve with time. As a designer who loves to integrate new technologies into traditional techniques for leather craftsmanship, I am sure as new methods of fabrication are perfected, it would change the way I make things.
How would you summarize your artistic philosophy?
Sarwarish: My design philosophy is based in focusing on craftsmanship with couture techniques, new technologies, and elements from everyday lives. I design from spontaneity inspired by everyday life of middle-class India aka “jugaad”, an Indian way of innovation with resource availability at hand for prototyping. I strive to design objects that are layered with artisanal effort and bring together the core idea of functional wearable art adjusted to personal mood and styling. The designs from life are repurposed to behave as, sometimes intentionally impractical, fashion/furniture and reimagined into a new silhouette based on discoveries made during the making process.
Who are some of your most significant influences?
Sarwarish: I would have to say brands like Iris Van Herpen & Coperni because of their incorporation of new technologies into their design process.
What role does technology play in your work?
Sarwarish: Technology plays an important role in my practice as an interdisciplinary designer. I utilize 3D modeling and printing across furniture and fashion fields to come up with different silhouettes that can redefine the boundaries of both disciplines. I also make use of laser curing and CNC milling alongside 3D printing to achieve results that would be incredibly difficult to achieve without the aid of these technologies.
In retrospect, how do you feel about your early work?
Sarwarish: I feel proud of my earlier work because it has laid the foundations for how my future work turns out to be. All the mistakes I made have ensured that I do not repeat them and all my limitations have opened my mind to circumvent them. Also, some of my early work has been significant, primarily my first experience in my design career. I designed and fabricated a crown for the costume worn by Madeline Anderson, Miss Puerto Rico, for the Miss Universe Pageant 2019, an opportunity I got from Joshuan Aponte, the designer who worked on the costume. We collaborated on that project where I 3D-modeled and created the parts through 3D printing and assembled them. It was one of the most positive experiences in my early career.
What is your approach to overcoming creative blocks?
Sarwarish: Fortunately, as someone who is relatively new to the field of design, I have not experienced a creative block. All I have right now are ideas and they overflow in my head most of the time to the point where I have to table them for the sake of my mental well-being. The way I see my life is that it’s a balance of things in my head and worldly duties, so in my case, I would be ok as long as I pay attention to both. I don’t personally believe in creative blocks, especially being a designer from India, a country where people lead their lives based on creativity in everyday lives as a solution to being limited financially.
What projects have you been working on this year so far?
Sarwarish: I have worked on transitioning my brand into two branches where with STM I will continue to prototype new silhouettes and designs for my clients and with Hsira Wras I will bring out designs that have been successful with my clientele in the past.
Laila Azzahra is a professional writer and blogger that loves to write about technology, business, entertainment, science, and health.