Eons of Indian style beat within Neha Kapil’s heart. A daughter of immigrants, the Eden Prairie artist and fashion designer grew up inspired by her South Asian ancestry.
“I had a culturally positive upbringing,” said Neha. “Bollywood movies and Indian television played all the time in our home. We grew up participating in local cultural festivals on a regular basis, and took trips back to India frequently.
“Growing up immersed in Indian culture let me appreciate how rich our art styles are – and how ancient. Our art forms have been passed down for ages through textiles, embroidery, painting, and many other mediums.
“What inspires me most about Indian art styles is their intricacy. India is a diverse country with a lot of customs that vary greatly from state to state. From textile practices to styles of dress, no two areas are exactly alike. One state might have developed a tradition of block printing in their fashion practices, another will specialize in woven textiles, while others became renowned for their embroidery styles, bead work, or various dye techniques.
“As all of these traditions mingled over thousands of years, they each came together to create a vast array of expertise that contributes to an incredibly rich and complex sense of artistry. If an artist can find inspiration in the depths of our diversity, they will find endless outlets for self-expression.
“As an artist who loves details, I have never wanted to conform to a single professional label: ‘just a designer,’ or ‘just an illustrator.’ I believe art is fluid, and that creatives should interpret the world through however many outlets feel right.
“This is what led me to fashion. As an art form, it was the one path I could take that would allow me to create a platform where all my many artistic interests in photography, illustration, styling, graphic design and makeup could coexist as one. Fashion is also the single form of creativity that will ultimately allow me to present my culture to the mainstream.
“Typically, South Asian fashion in North America falls at one of two extremes. At one end you have traditional formal wear consisting of saris, lehengas, and kurtas – all beautiful in their own right, but similar to what you can find at clothing stores in India. At the other end you have merch lines attempting to modernize Indian fashion into simple T-shirts and sweatshirts. This is fine too, but I feel like it somewhat limits the essence of what makes South Asian fashion so distinctive.
“With my AGNI label, I’m creating a new middle ground in Indian American fashion – high-end streetwear that is casual, yet inspired, and not so minimalistic that it reduces art to just a logo. I put the colors, the details, and the embellishments that make Indian clothing so beautiful on display in a way that is very different from what you’re used to seeing, but still has the same nostalgia of all the past silhouettes our ancestors passed down. I embrace East and West, old and new, tradition and innovation.
“With AGNI there’s a responsibility and a desire to fight for representation, while also creating designs that instill confidence and encourage a sense of cultural appreciation rather than cultural appropriation.
“Ultimately I hope to grow AGNI into a large enough platform that it can be universally accepted and celebrated, without the stigma of Indian style elements being passed off as something ‘foreign.’ I would like our vision to shift the dynamics of fashion.”
You may admire and order Neha’s clothing designs at agnistyle.com, but they tell only half of her story. Neha is also a talented painter who depicts wondrous heroines and goddesses. Please visit nehakapilart.com or visit her on social media at @itsnehalicious.
