Hidden Gems: Meet Maison Audmi

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maison Audmi, by Urvashi Lele. Urvashi and their team share the brand story with us below:

Maison Audmi was established in 2021, although it’s been taking form since as early as 2012. By day, the founder and creative director of the label, Urvashi Lele is an animator.

Having worked on a variety of projects with clients such as Quibi, Quinn XCII and V Festival UK, Urvashi wanted to translate that design expertise into fashion. Fashion has always been at the core of the designer’s process. The mood boards that she creates will contain at least a few references from that realm.

As a gender-fluid individual herself, Urvashi found it rather curious that the clothing industry still separated its garments based on the gender binary. And to make matters worse, one finds trousers – a garment heavily associated with masculinity- in womenswear but no dresses and skirts in menswear.

The ultimate goal is to do away with the terms menswear and womenswear but at Maison Audmi, the designer believes in taking the necessary small (but significant) steps to achieve that goal. The first step it to normalize seeing feminine garments in the menswear section – to perpetuate the idea that these garments can be associated with masculinity too.

Once we see the same kind of clothing in both categories, we won’t need to separate them based on gender anymore. The label has just launched its second collection with a strong roster of collaborations under its belt. The latest campaign shoot was styled by Harry Lambert and photographed by Paul Perelka. The label also showcased at New York Fashion Week this fall and Paris Fashion Week in the Spring of 2022 – both with a positive and encouraging response.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Of course, it’s been tough – the brand is one of a handful of its kind. It discusses a sensitive topic and celebrates a bold aesthetic. Although a lot of men agree with the concept, there is still a hesitance to be more expressive with clothing. It is understandable and we do not expect this change to happen overnight. We remain hopeful for the future.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Maison Audmi began as a desire to destigmatize the idea of the man in a dress. A combination of the Hindi words Aurat (Woman) and Aadmi (Man), the label is a tongue-in-cheek homage to androgyny in menswear.

Noticing a shortage in the market for dresses available in the menswear section, Urvashi Lele established the Indo-British label to make beautiful clothes for the male body. The designs bring romantic shapes and soft silhouettes to break the boundaries of traditional men’s fashion.

Handcrafted in a cozy little atelier in South Mumbai, each garment is made using precision tailoring techniques used in bespoke menswear design. The handloom fabrics are sourced from artisanal weavers around India or from deadstock suppliers to keep the process cruelty-free, ethical and as sustainable as possible.

The label prides itself in global collaborations with artisans from Australia, Britain and The EU alike.

With a decade of experience working as an animator, Urvashi is a self-taught dressmaker who intends on using her design knowledge to create visually striking pieces of clothing. As someone who moved from India to the UK at a young age, she hopes to combine the craft of clothes-making from both countries in her work. The label’s ideologies center around the decolonization of masculinities in India and celebrating the shared cultural heritage which has been the inevitable bi-product of that colonization.

The ultimate goal is to do without “menswear” or “womenswear” as the categories of the clothing that we purchase. Challenging the codes of masculinity in menswear is the first of many steps we can take to living in a future where clothing stores present garments based on body shapes and size rather than gender.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
LA has an easygoing atmosphere that is unnerving at first but then hard to resist once you get used to it. I like the food and community present in LA the most. What I like least about it is the lack of a decent public transportation system. It really undoes a lot of the unity achieved by such a strong communal spirit that’s present in the city.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.maisonaudmi.com
• Instagram: @maisonaudmi

Image Credits
Photographer: Paul Perelka Stylist: Harry Lambert Hair and Make-Up: Viorela Coman Talent: David and Tengde Location: P.S. Studios London, UK Florist: Rebel Rebel, UK