Designer Profile 2023: Arjun Kilaru

With the MODA Show just around the corner, I got the incredible opportunity to sit down with fourth-year, triple major, returning designer Arjun Kilaru, to learn more about his last and arguably best collection yet. From talks about his family to the discussion about travel and the subconscious, we’ve really done it all. So, take a minute to read, you really don’t want to miss this one!

What is fashion to you?

Fashion is an art form that allows you to express yourself in a way that everyone can see. I think it is the most democratized artform there is because everyone can access it really easily just by looking at what you’re wearing. I definitely use fashion to express my different creative ideas and wear things I want to celebrate.

I love that, I certainly never thought about fashion in this way! So, what would you say sparked your interest in design specifically?

My mom went to fashion school and was a designer for 5 to 10 years after she graduated college. She would always talk about those days, and so that is where I got my inspiration from. The same goes for my grandma. Back in India she worked as a seamstress so whenever I would go visit, I would be around fabrics, taking measurements and all of that. So, there is definitely a lot of influence there.

 Does that mean you had experience with design before college?

Not with design, that really started when I did the MODA Program first year. I was looking at fashion related things and saw this program and was like: “this makes perfect sense!”

So, that was the start of it, and I designed ever since.

Wow, that means this is your fourth collection! Can you tell me a little bit more about the inspiration behind it?

One of the main inspirations for my designs is travel. Whenever I go abroad, I try to shop fabrics and make outfits on the spot. Just a week ago I bought headscarf sand fabrics in a thrift shop in Brussels and then did some sewing in Paris. I just really like the idea of building a collection from places around the world.

But talking about the specific collections, every year I try to design something around a theme.  First year I did a collection about gender expression. Second year I made my collection about materialism and reasons for why people wear expensive clothes where I used materials like printed fabrics of designer brands. Last year I was inspired by the fashion of different cults that I was studying in one of my classes.

This year, around June or July, I was reading a lot of classical Psychologists like Freud and Jung. I was really interested in the human subconscious, so I decided that I wanted to try and represent psychological concepts through fashion. My outfits represent different concepts of the unconscious mind like childhood experiences, abstract and surrealist dreams. Surrealism has always been my favorite art movement, so I definitely thought it was time I did a collection that really embraced that.

Can you tell me more about the individual looks and how they represent your theme and you as a designer?

I made three looks and now I have to get started on the fourth one. Because of my travels this collection will use the fabrics I bought in Brussels and Paris but I’m also having a friend of mine make four oil paintings of my four models which I am going to sew on one of the outfits. So, they will be wearing artwork as well.

I also have one outfit that is an orange slip dress but at its base I am going to attach mini teddy bears. Then I’m going accessorize the hell out of it with necklaces, a head scarf, and probably even more stuff that I still haven’t thought about. But it is going to represent childhood themes that I am going to juxtapose with more mature accessories that resemble being older and still wearing your childhood experiences on you. I mean, they say that a lot of your psychological development comes from your childhood so that’s what I’m doing.

That’s incredible! Can’t wait to see the looks on the runway. And so, with this being one of your last collections, thinking back, would you say your design process evolved since your first design?

I am getting better but also sticking to what I know is good. Almost every year I made some type of suit which has mainly been with my mom because she knows how to make men’s’ wear. From what I can tell my suits are getting better, more complex and thought out. First year the suit was with no collar, no pockets, nothing like that. Then second year it became more complicated and this year it is quite professional.

I have also picked up hand sewing as opposed to a machine. I find it more reliable and more precise. I can get the exact stitches that I want, and it helps with reinforcing things. So basically, I’ve been making more outfits by hand. Actually, second year I only planned on doing one outfit but a friend of mine really wanted to model and so I made the outfit on her kitchen room table, by hand, in a few hours, and it worked out pretty nice!

Do you see yourself pursuing fashion after you graduate?

I have a couple of ideas. I am doing a masters here at UChicago in applied math for a quarter but then I have seven to nine months before I start working around July or September of 2024. During this time, I was thinking about exploring styling because that is easier to get in and out of. I also have a lot of styling work that I already did and so I think it would be good to get all of it out and be in that scene for a little bit.

Lastly, coming back to the show, what makes this year’s MODA show special? Why should everyone come and see it?

Everyone should come!

We have a super amazing group of designers, especially first-time designers. I know that one designer has eight models which I’ve never seen before. Also, almost all of the fourth-year designers have been designing for the show every year so this will really be their last collection, and they all have gone really far out on it.

This is also the first year that the designers had access to the sewing center in Ida Noyes that they just opened. You can leave your fabric there and access mannequins which designers are taking an advantage of, and they are putting out some good work this year.