Street Smart

Two Point Two by Anvita Sharma is a Delhi-based label leaning into streetwear's anti-establishment tenets to tell a modern fashion story, writes AKANKSHA KAMATH

- AKANKSHA KAMATH

STREET CULTURE HAS often inspired design. Think New York's hip-hop revolution where rap and rhythm were defined by how defiantly communities dressed. Or California's surf culture where elements of sportswear, punk and skateboarding came together to create a community. In each, the supersized T-shirts, baggy pants and blown-up sneakers posed a giant "So what?" because how else do you move through the frameworks of society, if not with a shrug and swag?

For Anvita Sharma, 32, creative director and founder of the six-year-old label Two Point Two, it is these guiding principles of community and questioning of norms that inspired her journey in design. On her mood board: Japan's burgeoning fashion scene of subcultures and genres, where iconic designers like Yohji Yamamoto bent the binary to create a safe space for everyone in clothing. "Our newest collection, 'A Warrior's Journey', is inspired by the Shu-Ha-Ri philosophy, which is a Japanese martial arts concept that outlines a three-stage learning process, from mastering the fundamentals to breaking the rules to creating something new," Sharma explains. Her collection continually questions concepts and constructs, negating them where necessary.