Aneeth Arora was ahead of her time, but the world seems to have caught up. When she started her label, péro, a decade ago, terms like upcycling and sustainability were scarcely mentioned in the luxury market. “When people saw our new aesthetic, made with natural fabrics, they felt it was too plain and expensive,” recalls Arora.

If it wasn’t for the encouragement of her mentor, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee, she says things would have been different. “He told me to stick to my guns, and that the clothes would sell like hot cakes one day,” she says. This week, she brings her underwater-themed spring-summer 2019 collection, Finding péro, to Collage in Chennai. Over 100 pieces will be showcased; they’ve been woven in places like West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bhagalpur and Banaras, and feature everything from hand embroidery to appliqué.

Keeping to her lane

Over the years, Arora says she hasn’t really changed her aesthetic. “But we did cut back on things like hand-stitching, to make it more viable for the market. Now, customers are willing to pay for anything that’s special or luxury,” she explains. So a business that started with making 12 pieces a month, has now grown to about 1,000 a month, and retails in 35 countries across 250 stores. It helped that the Lakmé Gen Next platform gave the brand the initial opportunity to go international back in 2009. “We were selling more overseas, since it was not the usual embroidery that is associated with designers from the sub-continent. Then people here ‘discovered’ it. You know how it is, when people see something overseas they start valuing it more.”

There have also been collaborations with Nike and adidas, artisanal chocolate brand All Things Chocolate, and, most recently, with Birkenstock and Havaiana. At the Lakmé Fashion Week in February, péro collaborated with Australian-based Woolmark Company and Kullu wool weavers’ cooperative Bhuttico, for an autumn/winter line. The Merino-based collection features elements from traditional Manali shawls.

In all this, the core of Arora’s work jas remained sustainability. While everyone has a different definition, for her, it is about working with the same set of people. “Assuring them a livelihood, not making them feel like they will be abandoned when trends change every six months,” she explains. They challenge themselves by creating something new with the same skill set.

No ‘I’ in team

Arora also shies away from the spotlight, choosing consciously to not put a face to the brand — although she will admit she is the spokesperson. Recently, they did a shoot with a magazine where the entire team was included, instead of the designer alone. “I can make a sketch on paper, but if it is not executed right, it will not exist. We want to promote the fact that it is a people-driven label — and the brand can go beyond me, if it can be handed over to someone else who can take it forward,” she says.

Thinking ahead is also one of her fashion philosophies. It is heartening for her to see clients continuing to wear the pieces they bought a decade ago. “I'm not saying people should buy less. Of course, they should buy consciously. But if they know they are buying something that lasts forever in their wardrobe, then they should buy five more if they want to, because they know it’s what they want and that it's going to last,” she says. Like péro’s iconic jackets, upcycled from much-loved pieces on request from clients. “They know the amount of love and work that has gone into it; it’s not something that will be sold off in a thrift store. They should feel bad if they even think of disposing it,” she jests, adding that the cost factor of luxury clothing has always ensured that they are heirloom pieces.

And if things go as planned, soon, your interiors too can wear the péro look, as they are planning a line of home textiles to mark 10 years of their existence.

So when does she find time for herself? “I have a green thumb, so I do gardening. If I was not doing this, I would be into landscaping or customising gardens,” she says. As for her personal aesthetic, Arora picks Japanese designers like Vlas Blomme and GAZZa, for their comfortable and versatile day wear. She admits that she does not keep up with the growing number of sustainable brands, but she’s always inspired by the rural communities they work with. “They always know to look stylish effortlessly, especially as they are so photographed by outsiders. We don’t realise it because we are used to it,” she concludes.

Finding péro will be available at Collage, till April 30.