“We Are The Most Modern Brand, And We Wear Tradition On Our Sleeves”: Sanjay Garg

When you converse with Sanjay Garg, founder and director, Raw Mango, you can sense his authenticity, grounded nature, and confidence with a focus on building a brand that is synonymous with handloom silks. He is fairly particular about how he is labeled, “I’m not a designer; I’m an artisanal textile producer,” he corrects me. In this day and age, where the essence of India is represented through myriad fashion labels, Raw Mango exudes a spirit that is unmatched, and a narrative that is both personal and traditional.

For Garg, traditional is not holding onto the past; it is an ever-evolving dialogue. “I see my tradition as something futuristic. I think of what I contribute to the next generation, the future of tomorrow. I infuse this traditional aspect through the lens of contemporary issues in my campaigns. This is the dialogue I share with my audience.” With the festive season around the corner, the brand launches their Garland collection infused with rich celebratory shades.

As we catch Garg on the go, traveling and multitasking for the showcase of Raw Mango Classics and launching his new campaign, he delves deeper into the inspiration behind Garland, the lessons he has learned along the way, the versatility and symbolism of a saree, and his plans for 2025.

The ‘Garland’ Symbol

In Garg’s latest festive collection, flowers portray a philosophical meaning, igniting an ethereal inspiration for his creative mind. The Garland collection explores the omniscient essence of flowers in the Indian context. “Flowers are everywhere, used, and interpreted differently in different cultures and contexts. India has a very interesting relationship with flowers, used to mark a variety of occasions—from birth and death to politics and religion. I was intrigued by how different cultures use flowers to symbolize different things. Japan, for instance, has Ikebana. I wanted to figure out what was the Indian way of arranging flowers, and it was the garland,” he quotes.

This garland, a symbol of blessings, seamlessly weaves into the brand’s latest campaign portraying an intimate wedding in a homely setting where Rajasthan’s rich culture is represented through the Kanhaiya Dangal performances. The Garland collection offers an array of sarees, lehengas, and kurtas in opulent hues like gulkand pink—inspired by the desi gulab, petal pink inspired by the Indian lotus, the perfect white of mogra, and the raw green of mango leaves. Best known for using handloom silks, for the first time, the brand also explores embroidery on brocade, further enriching its artistic narrative.

Reviving Indian handlooms

From humble beginnings, Sanjay’s launched his artisanal brand Raw Mango in 2008, as a way to explore how Indian perspectives, culture, and philosophies can be projected through design. Now, 15 years later, Garg reflects on what it meant to pursue fashion back in the day. “As a kid in a village, you don’t know that design can be studied. I wasn’t aware that it can be a part of an education and a viable career option. I come from a very traditional yet liberal family, and we were not aware of these opportunities. My parents wanted me to become a chartered accountant but I fought for it and I applied to a fashion college with help of a neighbour,” he shares.

As a design student at the Indian Institute of Craft & Design in Jaipur and later at NIFT Delhi, Garg felt restless. While everyone around him approached fashion through a western lens, he wanted to bring something new to the table. “Everyone around that time was trying to make gowns and dresses; hardly anyone was doing sarees. Fashion wasn’t associated with handloom—few were doing printed sarees, but no one was focusing on handloom collections. I really wanted to explore our Indian handlooms.”

Thinking sustainable fashion

When asked what makes him really proud in the last 15 years, Garg shares, “There are a few moments that I absolutely cherish. One is the first brocade collection in 2014—everyone told me it won’t work—that no one will accept it or wear it; look at how many people are embracing it now. The same goes for our Mashru sarees when we started in 2010; nobody knew what they were back then. Even the way we do our campaigns, storytelling, the way we look at our events, and garment presentation has set us apart from the rest.”

What makes Raw Mango a celebrated Indian brand is its commitment to sustainability. The textile pioneer works with natural fibers like cotton, silk, and wool and is associated with local craftsmen across India, ensuring fair wage policies. For Garg, sustainability is going beyond the yarn choice. “You need to incorporate it in other factors such as the design, choice of fabric colour and how it is achieved, the weaves, and motifs. All of these combined reflects what sustainability truly stands for, while also supporting local economies and livelihoods,” he adds.

As a part of the design community, Garg is aware of the ever-changing nature of the society. He affirms the idea of diverse representation amongst designers who will exude bigger roles in shifting the design narrative according to the changing times. These designers and artists do not necessarily have to come from big cities like Delhi and Mumbai. Garg’s core belief lies in knowing that they can come from anywhere.

Saree, The Raw Mango Way

Versatile, empowering, and a token of timeless elegance, the saree in the South Asian community stands tall as a symbol of regional identity. As someone responsible for bringing sarees into modern wardrobes, Garg says, “Do not restrict the saree. Sarees need to keep evolving. As long as we keep experimenting, they will continue to be worn. You have to adapt to people’s changing tastes.”

Speaking of innovation, Raw Mango’s 2023 Lakme Fashion Week collection, Children of the Night, showed sarees with metal wires, Lycra pallu sarees, and addressed the sizing issues: “We had sizing issues working with brocade. For this collection, we made the brocade fibre more size exclusive.” As for who wears Raw Mango best, Garg notes, “I love how Kiran Rao wears it, and Laxmi Menon too.”

When asked what makes Raw Mango a modern brand, Garg explains, “I do not force modernity. The current issues I address with the brand make it modern.” He cites the example of the brand’s 2018 festive collection Heer. “There was a protest in Bengaluru regarding the imposition of Hindi language in a non-Hindi speaking state. I wondered what if Punjab faced it? What would it be like if they did not have Hindi language? Influenced by this thought, the Heer campaign only had English, Urdu, and Punjabi. It’s these small narratives that define our campaigns.” With a design vocabulary that highlights Indian wear, rich heritage textiles infused with contemporary techniques and imagined with bold colours, Raw Mango has carved a niche for their campaigns that capture Indian aesthetics, but not in a glitzy way. “We are the most modern brand, and we wear tradition on our sleeves,” Sanjay declares.

What’s Next

Closing the Raw Mango Classics show in the US, he points out how a nostalgia fever is sweeping over Indians abroad. “The garment presentation was very well received. Indians realized what they miss—they’re nostalgic.” Closer home, there’s a big announcement too. The textile connoisseur has big plans for next year—a new store in an art deco-style building perhaps. “We will be launching our new store in the heart of Kolkata next year,” he confirms.