Building a community between art and fashion

Freakins Art collection presents a chance for upcoming artists to showcase their work to a larger reach and have a real-time value to showcase their designs through the fashion industry. The brand has collaborated with obscure artists across India to translate their craft onto final wearable products.

Shaan Shah, Co- Founder and CEO of Freakins speaks to IANSlife about the new project:

* Tell us about Freakins Art.

Shaan: Freakins Art is an initiative to build a community within the art and fashion industry and give artists an opportunity to showcase their designs. Artists from all over India have been given this platform to translate their craft on our products and monetize their work.

* How will this help upcoming artists financially?

Shaan: This offers the artists an opportunity for them to display their art, hard work and talent. For each product of their art that is sold, they get a percentage of the sale.

* How many artists have been supported?

Shaan: We have collaborated with a total of 22 artists pan-India till date and there are more collections in the pipeline.

* How did the idea come about?

Shaan: The idea came from a thought of wanting to make a difference and wanting to build a bridge that forms a community between art and fashion. Much to our surprise, we realised that there was a unified platform where the artists could showcase that talent and this is what led to the genesis of Freakins Art. The initiative culminated into giving opportunity to upcoming artists from all over India to showcase their talent and also make profits from it.

* Do you think brands and designers sometimes don't give artists their due? What can be done to change this?

Shaan: In today's struggling job market, sometimes artists don't get full credit for their work. We feel whether you are a painter, sketcher or any other job that involves creativity and talent is absolutely worth to be paid a decent amount. This led to an initiative where not only do artists get a platform to showcase their art, get credit for it and also get a percentage of the sale.

* How did the artists feel about this project?

Shaan: I believe they enjoyed it, and I quote Nikita Sagar, who said "Loved working on this collaboration with FREAKINS. It opened more doors and helped me to reach out to more number of people by making wearable art more accessible. The entire process of designing and picking each item while keeping in mind the ongoing trends was a learning experience on its own!"

* Any more collections in the pipeline?

Shaan: Yes, there are more collections already in the pipeline with different artists and will be launched later this year.