Vivek Karunakaran’s Adyalam makes a cultural dialogue of heritage and design

Who are you, what are you, where are you from? For designer Vivek Karunakaran, these questions are beyond identity. They are the foundation of Adyalam, meaning identity, their new cultural property. This year is ready to debut at the Chettinad Heritage Festival, it is imagined as a travel showcase that threads fashion, crafts, art, music and design together.

He says, “The whole idea of ​​Adyalam feels the deep roots that it is so important to identify talent, support it, and then cooperate to make something more meaningful,” they say. The first version will bring weavers, musicians, designers and artists to one place, showing Showcase as a platform for a dialogue and exchange.

Vivek Karunakaran | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

For Vivek, Adyalam is also the result of years which explains how the south of India is considered within the fashion world. “I remember when I went to Lakme Fashion Week in 2007, how little I understood about the south of India,” he remembers. “Since then, some hit me – the unbreakable feeling of trying to change that ideology, that we are not as invisible as you think we are, and to give a lot.”

With the Chetinad Heritage Festival, Architecture, Textiles and Living traditions, the natural settings for the beginning of Adyalam became a natural setting. There is a cloth installation among highlights that are made with three weaving families in the region, each contributing to the saree that carries the memory of their loom and lineage. Vivek says, “Adyalam is not just to promote that we already know.”

Photo from Amar Ramesh’s column chain | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Furthermore, Vivek is clear about such conversation what kind of conversation Adyalam should have. In a world where identity often decreases for curate social media profiles, he wants the platform to go deep.

The cooperation is central for the project. For debut, Vivek has brought together artists, musicians, jewelers and designers whose practices are inherent in cultural identity, but are open to the rearring. He admits that curing such a mixture is a process that will develop over time. “Right now, the soul is to bring people together and to do so, to plan every detail. With the right cooperation, the effect may be much more. It is something that I will learn and refine because the Adyalam increases.”

That soul is also spread to music and photography. In Chettinad, Vivek will present a cooperation between Carnatic singer Sandeep Narayan and contemporary musician Byorn Surrao, which will create a performance that bridges classical tradition and modern sounds. There will also be a collaboration with photographer Amar Ramesh, who will display the fine art print of his works on culture and identity. “We are telling the styles of each of us again, but to make something that is very different and beautiful,” they say. This is a kind of convergence, which he expects to continue to promote art forms from food and textiles to design and performance.

Amar Ramesh’s picture from Mogappu series | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

Even the format will move to cities, the intention is clear: to move beyond the surface-level showcase and create real opportunities for communities. “At the end of the day, if it does not translate into the transaction, it is a useless exercise,” Vivek says. “We want to tell beautiful stories, but also help these people to make their business.”

As the showcase opens in Chettinad and prepare to travel beyond – Vivek says he hopes to incite the feeling of inherentness that people want to be a part of the journey.

The 4th Chetted Heritage and Cultural Festival is scheduled from 12 to 16 September.