Aaquib Wani shares minute particulars from Indian males’s cricket group’s jersey: ‘Should you look carefully…’

Q: How would you describe your journey, from designing Group India’s Olympic equipment to the boys’s cricket group’s jersey?

Aaquib Wani: My journey has been about storytelling by way of design — from music-inspired art work in my band days (2006-2014) to creating nationwide kits for India. Every mission has pushed boundaries and blended cultural narratives with performance. Seeing my designs symbolize the nation is humbling.

Q. How did you land these initiatives?

Aaquib Wani: We carved a distinct segment by approaching each mission with a recent perspective rooted in originality and storytelling. Our studio thrives on numerous initiatives, and being self-taught permits me to interrupt conventional frameworks and convey a extra intuitive, unconventional method to design. This makes it simpler for shoppers in the hunt for revolutionary and significant work.

Q. Take us by way of the design strategy of the Olympic equipment and males’s cricket jersey.

Aaquib Wani: For the Olympic equipment, we drew inspiration from India’s terrains, translating topography into symbolic and useful patterns by way of temper boards and prototypes. Every iteration — from conceptual sketches to prototypes — was rigorously evaluated for its steadiness between narrative, aesthetics, and efficiency.

Olympics 2024 Group India official journey jersey. (Picture: PR handout)

The cricket jersey was developed on a decent timeline. Right here, the main target shifted to making a design that resonated with followers whereas delivering optimum consolation for the gamers. Patterns that conveyed energy, unity, and nationwide delight turned central to the design exploration. The most recent jersey, with the tricolour on the shoulders, attracts inspiration from the architectural arches of India’s heritage monuments. Should you look carefully, the arches are subtly embedded within the design — a quiet nod to the nation’s cultural legacy. This consideration to element and narrative-driven method is what in the end formed each initiatives.

Q. What have been the briefs for these two initiatives?

Aaquib Wani: For the Olympic equipment, the transient was to have a good time India’s range and create one thing timeless. It was about honouring the athletes who carry the spirit of the nation.

For the cricket jersey, the transient targeted on mixing fashionable design with a way of nationwide delight. It needed to be daring but respectful of custom — one thing followers and gamers may really feel related to.

Q. You’re additionally the mind behind themes for Sunburn and Lollapalooza. Inform us about that.

Aaquib Wani: Designing for festivals is a wholly completely different expertise. For Sunburn, it’s about creating an immersive escape — vibrant, energetic, and bigger than life. For Lollapalooza India, we leaned into celebrating the town of Mumbai with an idea that mirrored the dynamism of its individuals and tradition. Creating experiences that carry individuals collectively by way of music and artwork is difficult however rewarding.

Q. When engaged on such numerous initiatives, what goes on in your thoughts?

Aaquib Wani: My focus is all the time on delivering an expertise — whether or not it’s a jersey, a competition theme, or an set up. I attempt to channel the essence of the mission, making certain it resonates with its viewers whereas aligning with the shopper’s imaginative and prescient.

Designing for festivals is a wholly completely different expertise, he stated. (Picture: PR handout)

Q. Did any cricketer attain out to you to commend your work and/or design one thing for them personally?

Aaquib Wani: Sure, I had the privilege of collaborating with Rohit Sharma on two customized hand-painted sneakers in the course of the IPL seasons of 2021 and 2022. Within the 2021 season opener, Rohit wore sneakers that includes art work of the endangered Nice One-Horned Rhinoceros titled “Save the Rhino” to boost consciousness about wildlife conservation — a trigger he’s deeply obsessed with. For IPL 2022, we created one other pair of sneakers, this time highlighting ocean conservation with intricate art work of a whale, crimson corals, and every part underwater titled “Plastic Free Ocean”.

This collaboration paved the best way for a extra in depth partnership with Adidas, the place we designed a full-blown “Finish Plastic Waste” assortment with Rohit. As a part of the initiative, Adidas pledged to scrub 10 plastic bottles from Mumbai’s seashores for each run Rohit scored in the course of the season. It was an unbelievable instance of how design, sport, and sustainability can encourage actual motion and create significant affect.

Q. The place do you draw inspiration from?

Aaquib Wani: Inspiration is all over the place — structure, Indian crafts, dwell music, and journey. My Kashmiri roots typically affect my perspective, reminding me of the wonder intimately.

Q: What was your expertise with Isha Ambani’s sangeet? How lengthy did you need to execute it, what went behind the scenes?

Aaquib Wani: Commissioned by the Reliance Basis and curated by Direct Create, I used to be introduced on board to design “Swadesh bazaar” for Isha Ambani’s sangeet in 2018. It was an occasion of a lifetime for me because it marked my first mission after quitting my job and going solo.

The Swadesh bazaar was a superbly immersive expertise celebrating 108 Crafts of India — a sacred quantity with roots in Indian mysticism. The imaginative and prescient was to showcase India’s wealthy craft heritage whereas offering artisans a platform to reveal and promote their work. We created experiential zones the place company may straight work together with artisans — from witnessing bell-making craft of Kutch to bangles being handcrafted dwell.

With only some months to carry it to life, it was an intense course of marked by creativity, meticulous planning, and sleepless nights. Each element, from the architectural design of the pavilions to the smallest décor components, was thoughtfully curated to honour the depth of India’s cultural legacy. Watching artisans proudly show their craft and company deeply have interaction with these tales was extremely fulfilling.

Q. Which mission is closest to your coronary heart?

Aaquib Wani: It’s arduous to decide on, however designing the Indian cricket group jerseys holds a particular place in my coronary heart. Cricket is a unifying pressure, and designing one thing that represents the delight and keenness of a whole nation felt extremely significant. The mission not solely pushed me creatively but in addition put us on the map, permitting our work to be seen and celebrated globally. Seeing the gamers put on it on the sector and followers embrace it was an emotional expertise.

Q. Your tackle the design scene in India.

Aaquib Wani: Indian design is evolving quickly with fearless experimentation and world recognition. Typical limits now not bind designers. They’re mixing historical past, strategies, and fashionable aesthetics to create work that feels layered, clever, and forward-thinking. Worldwide manufacturers are more and more collaborating with Indian designers, tapping into the recent views, ingenuity, and craftsmanship we provide.

That stated, there’s nonetheless work to be completed — nurturing cross-disciplinary collaborations, fostering stronger platforms for expertise, and advocating for design as a essential pressure that drives enterprise, innovation, and society. India’s design future is getting ready to one thing extraordinary. That is just the start.