FASHION Magazine

  • Passage to India: We tour Rajasthan with Holt Renfrew in search of one-of-a-kind treasures

    by Bernadette Morra
    India Holt Renfrew
    Photography by Christopher Wray-McCann

    In the age of the selfie, Waris Ahluwalia is the world’s most reluctant subject. In Gap ads and New York social diaries, the actor/jewellery designer appears deadpan and remote. But travelling with him in his native India, I discover a cheerful, easygoing guy with a deep appreciation for handmade things. It’s a passion he shares with Alexandra Weston, India Holt RenfrewHolt Renfrew’s director of brand strategy, who asked Ahluwalia to help curate an “Uncrate India” collection for H Project (available April 1), a section within Holt Renfrew stores offering “extraordinary products with extraordinary stories.” I was invited to tag along on their treasure hunt. Journeying through Rajasthan, seeing expert hands bringing jewellery, scarves and wooden boxes to life was heart-warming for us all. As Weston puts it, “Supporting craft in any way you can is the most important thing you can do, because craft is the way out of poverty.”

    Read on to discover our journey through India:

    Posted in Alexandra Weston, H Project, Holt Renfrew, India, May 2014, Print edition, Style, Uncrate India, Waris Ahluwalia