Victoire de Brantes X Vastrakala
January X, 2024 - Villa Swagatam, inaugurated in April 2023 by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Catherine Colonna, positions itself as a platform for cultural exchanges between French and Indian artists, designers and writers. In line with eminent figures such as the painter S.H. Raza, Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore, screenwriter and author Jean-Claude Carrière, and theatre director Ariane Mnouchkine, Villa Swagatam - a network of local partners across the two countries - aims to strengthen the dialogue between France and India in the fields of literature, performing arts, and arts & craft. Throughout this first year, the residencies are happening exclusively in India, in 16 different locations which have in common, an expertise on Indian art forms (embroidery, puppetry, dance, illustrated books, etc.) as well as an ability to interact with local key players. Thanks to this programme, French residents are given the opportunity to discover very specific aspects of the Indian cultural landscape.
Victoire de Brantes: A Testament to Cross-Cultural Collaboration
In the spotlight of Villa Swagatam's ongoing success in Chennai is resident Victoire de Brantes, a young multidisciplinary French designer who graduated from the Design Academy of Eindhoven. On the occasion of her residency with Vastrakala, an embroidery studio started in 1993 by French entrepreneur Jean-François Lesage, Victoire redefined the role of ornamentation by blending heritage with innovative materials. Her work showcases the essence of Villa Swagatam's commitment to reciprocity and the exchange of creative excellence.
By exploring the archives and traditional techniques of the Atelier Vastrakala, I intended to question and redefine the role of ornamentation today, combining heritage with spontaneous compositions.
“The objective was to create a new form of embroidery that integrates into our interiors, providing both functionality and beauty. Around one format, an energetic scene unfolds. Beads and stones, slipping, rolling and colliding in a dance that creates a delicate yet playful composition. This interplay generates a multitude of delicate combinations. Pieces interconnect and merge, blending the inner language with buttons and cufflinks to give life to tiling walls, curtains, screens and surprising elements. The aesthetic emerges from compositions that play with light on the panels themselves. Moments are captured through the enchantment of embroidery, capturing a beautiful interaction between those who invent and those who make. A meeting that could not have taken place without the Swagatam project”, says Victoire.
Atelier Vastrakala: Bridging Heritage and Contemporary Design Production
For 30 years, Vastrakala has been designing and making high-quality hand embroidery. Initially dedicated to embroideries for interiors, Vastrakala’s repertoire progressively extended to fine embroidery for fashion as the company partnered with Lesage Paris. Both maisons have been united by the same passion, exchanging, meeting and bringing together their skills of excellence.
Transmission has always been at the heart of Vastrakala’s mission, whether it is in enabling new generations of embroiderers to perpetuate their heritage in and around the villages where they live, or in the exchanges of embroidery know-hows between France and India, two countries with a centuries-old embroidery tradition.
There, the Villa Swagatam resident is mentored by Jean-Francois Lesage, the Artistic Director for the decoration activity, while learning from the ancestral techniques of Vastrakala’s craftsmen. The aim of this 3-month residency was also to immerse the French resident in the studio completely. She had a room of her own on-site and could experience daily life with the local working community. Indeed, the philosophy of Swagatam is to enable human encounters and dialogue.
He tells us, “Thanks to Villa Swagatam, a stone is added to the embroidered bridge that connects India to France and France to India, bringing a fresh perspective represented by Victoire's vision and that of future residents. The active, open exchange, rooted in the 21st century, contributes dynamically and vividly to a constant mutual enrichment.”
In 2024, the French Institute in India and its partner Vatsrakala will jointly work towards promoting and exhibiting the residency outcome, both in India and in France, giving at the same time great exposure to the emerging designer and to the traditional Indian know-hows.
About Victoire de Brantes
Victoire de Brantes (VSB Atelier) is a multidisciplinary French designer based between Paris and Provence. She lived and studied in India, Italy and the Netherlands, where she graduated from the Humanity and Wellbeing department of the Eindhoven Design Academy in 2022. Victoire is driven by a passion for materials and colours as a means of connecting with our everyday environment. She has created collaborative protocols with different artisan communities, using design as a tool for dialogue and empowerment. She seeks to understand the singular context around specific colours and materials, always emphasising the sensory tangibility of the object. Victoire's approach to design combines material research with poetic storytelling to bring her concepts to life.
https://www.victoiredebrantes.com/
About the French Institute in India
The French Institute in India (Institut Français en Inde) is the educational, scientific, and cultural department of the Embassy of France in India. It facilitates academic and scientific exchanges between higher institutes of learning and research, enables student mobility, and promotes the French language as well as artistic and cultural dialogue. Cooperation between India and France takes place through several sectors: Arts and Culture, Books and Ideas, French Language and Education, Study in France programme, Academic Partnerships, Science and Technology, as well as Innovation and Multimedia.