For péro, home is where the heart is

Designer Aneeth Arora’s spring/summer 2021 collection had all the markers of a péro show. A few seasons ago, we were taken to a streetside curb with cyclists and dancers on a reimagined pavement as a runway. And then there was the beachside showcase, complete with sandy shores and a collaboration with Havaianas flip flops (because how else do you navigate sand in your shoes?). A péro show is transportive, a visual treat, and a large-scale production. 

But how do you solve a problem like hosting a fashion show in a pandemic? Sometimes it requires doubling up on roles. Like all of us who have discovered an alternate career during the pandemic, for Locked in Love, Arora became a croissant of creativity—layered, consistent and best when fresh. The designer turned script writer, director, and filmmaker. “Like with all things at péro, this process was very spontaneous. When we want to do something, we talk about it, take in feedback, and improvise along the way,” Arora said in an exclusive interview with Vogue. 

Piled on with metaphors, the film is shot with a static camera, “to show just how we felt during lockdown—fixed and repetitive”. Divided into nine rooms of a house—a kitchen where we rediscovered baking in a pandemic schedule, a library “for those who found their lost love for reading”, a garden for the green-thumbed, and so on—the film follows the inhabitants of these rooms, as their stories unravel in gifts, stop-motion photography, time lapse and more. 

“In the house, we’ve incorporated péro textiles like tea towels, carpets, and even ceramics from the péro Home line we are excited to officially launch soon,” explains Arora of the whimsical details of her dream house. I ask if Locked in Love borrows from her own personal space and how she spent her time in lockdown? “This has been a blessing in disguise, honestly. I didn’t have time to do anything but work, and I have a real green thumb, so I was able to focus on gardening. Little successes of some dying plants being revived or the kitchen garden finally blooming brought such joy,” she says as I hear the smile in her voice.

Not many know, but Arora has a mammoth book collection in her own home. “When I started interning as a fresh fashion graduate, I promised myself to buy a book with every stipend. That tradition kind of took on even as I started my own label and began earning a salary. After 10 years of péro, I have many many books, and after a point I didn’t wait for the salary!” she laughs. In the pandemic, a hobby was pressing flower petals in-between pages of these books.   

The clothes are worn by the characters in the film who also impart messages. For example, a girl who is really into fashion, and pre-pandemic bought and loaded up her closet, now finds old pre-loved, lived-in pieces and mixes and matches them. Twins in another room, dressed in powder blue and powder pink, matching sets, hug and caress for having realised not spending enough time with each other. The divine is in the details, like bullion roses embroidered on tea dresses and summer jackets that seem to say “Stop, and smell the roses!”. 

For Arora, it has always been about creativity - but creativity with a message. “As a child, my mother made sure I learnt hand embroidery of every kind. My summer break was filled with meditative needlework. Every season I recreate these pure embroideries that have the human touch, and can’t be replicated, making every piece so much more special.”  

Also read:

Aneeth Arora of Péro marks 10 years in fashion with an endearing exhibition

Péro fall/winter 2020