What’s next for Alighieri designer Rosh Mahtani?
The London-based designer received the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design at London Fashion Week yesterday. By GILLIAN BRETT
Rosh Mahtani of Alighieri proved yesterday that she is a true advocate for sustainability when she staged an intimate presentation showcasing her latest collection alongside pieces from her archive. Set in a magical 600-year-old crypt in central London, the presentation, which closed London Fashion Week, was held as part of a ceremony in which she received the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design. HRH Princess Anne, who is also president of the Fashion & Textile Association, presented the award in front of a roomful of editors and industry figures. The designer was selected this year for the incredible craftsmanship of her jewelry and support of local manufacturing.
“We used everything that we already had in our studio,” explained Mahtani following the performative presentation, in which female and male models of various ages wore Baserange lingerie under Alighieri’s talismanic ready-to-wear collection (launched last summer) and a mélange of past-season jewelry. “We [tried to] tell new stories to encourage the idea that we all have things that are already special and it’s not about finding newness – it’s about bringing together what we already have and retelling it.”
The location was carefully chosen for its proximity to Hatton Garden, London’s historic jewelry quarter, where the British designer produces her cult molten-gold-effect jewelry (made from recycled brass), beloved by everyone from Rosie Huntington-Whiteley to Elisabeth Moss. By manufacturing here, Mahtani already has something of a royal association, as she is now the quarter’s biggest customer after the Queen.
“It’s been a challenge for us both to grow together, but that’s something I feel very proud of and don’t ever want to lose,” says the designer of the casting company she works with. “As you scale a brand – we grew by 600 percent the year before last – there was so much talk about taking it overseas and margins being cheaper, being better, but these guys are like my family, and close values are at the heart of the brand, so we’re going to fight to keep it here.”
For those unfamiliar with her story, Mahtani named her label after Italian poet Dante Alighieri, and each piece corresponds to one of the 100 cantos, or stanzas, in his Divine Comedy. This time around, she found inspiration in the work of T.S. Eliot, referencing one of his most celebrated works, The Waste Land. “I really think we’re living in a modern-day wasteland, where we’re so connected in terms of technology, and we’re all together, but we don’t communicate. I wanted to tell a story of how to find love and connection in the middle of that – real connection across cultures, industries and ages – and finding that calm and healing, and a feeling of togetherness in difficult times. We’re in the midst of very difficult environmental challenges and I wanted to say that there’s some joy to be found in coming together.”
The preternatural jeweler occupies a rarefied space in the fashion industry. With her unique aesthetic and deeply spiritual philosophy, Mahtani has made fine jewelry cool and brought it firmly into the current sartorial lexicon. In return, she is being recognised alongside exciting emerging design talent: at the Fashion Awards in London last year, she was nominated in the British Emerging Talent (Womenswear) category alongside designers such as Rejina Pyo (the ultimate winner) and Phoebe English. And during LFW, it was announced that Mahtani is one of the six designers to be shortlisted for the British Fashion Council/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund for 2020. The fact that she is blazing a trail with sustainability and community at its core makes her thoughtful talismans all the more powerful.