Fashion was never part of my world growing up. In the small town of Nainital, there were no fashion magazines, TV channels or—back in the day—social media. Instead, I found inspiration in music. I would wait for months for new English music tapes to arrive and use up all of my saved pocket money on them. Whatever cover art came with these cassettes was fashion to me: Madonna in bold red lipstick, Janet Jackson’s purple jacket, Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera in low-rise jeans.

2019 Launched New York

It was only at the age of 30 that I realised I could pursue fashion: that it wasn’t out of the grasp of–for lack of a better word–normal people like me. After close to a decade in brand strategy, I had applied to the Parsons School of Design to pursue Interior Design and only a day before the deadline, changed my entire application to Fashion Design. As QUOD completes six years, I find myself reflecting on everything this decision led to. Fashion, to me, felt like returning home. Like expressing myself without inhibition, the way I used to as a child. Like being in the Himalayas, surrounded by the mountains I grew up with.

2020 Blenders Pride Fashion Tour

But these last six years at QUOD have been more than just a homecoming. They have been an ode to home. To the conservative town and the Catholic school I went to, that still inspires so much of QUOD. To the modest yet evolved style of the mountains. To the local principles of design. To the symmetry of the Catholic iconography I grew up surrounded by. QUOD comes from home and gives back to home. Running the brand for six years has been an honour and a reminder that home is more than just a place. It is people. 

Ikshit x