When a brand’s HQ is in the literal birthplace of the “Gypsy,” you know the designer behind it has major boho game.
Designer Caroline Weller is not joking around when it comes to the life-filled textiles and bold prints that have come roaring back into fashion over the past decade. After a prestigious career designing for some of the most successful brands of our time, from Calvin Klein to J.Crew, and inspired by her own robust world travels, Weller launched her own line, Banjanan, in 2015. Banjanan means gypsy in Hindi, and each collections’ vibrant expression of prints, colors, and singular craftsmanship has our imaginations running wild.
The latest sustainable fashion brand on our radar this season, Banjanan’s designs are made by the ancient textile community of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan, India. Watch the video above for the inspiring story (on loan from Barney’s New York!)
Caroline believes that the energy of fabric made by human hands is tangible in the finished product, and uses the local talents of Jaipur’s community to create the flowing dresses, breezy tops, and other statement pieces that are so unquestionably “Banjanan.”
From the expected (fellow artists) to the extraordinary (magical Ottoman gardens), here are 10 design inspirations that get Caroline’s creative juices flowing:
10 design inspirations with Caroline Weller
One: Monkeys
Monkeys jumping through the trees on my morning walk through the jungle with my dog.
Two: Paintings
The wonderful painted rooms of the Samode Palace outside Jaipur, filled with Moghul-inspired birds and flowers.
Three: Birds
A magical imaginary Ottoman garden, filled with patterned birds. I love looking at exotic birds in my garden.
Four: Offili
The artist Chris Offili. I love the way he uses pattern, texture and color.
Five: Apfel
Iris Apfel and her joyful approach to color.
Six: Explorers
The idea of a 19th-century female adventurer exploring foreign lands and how she would adopt local clothing into her style.
Seven: Ford
The artist Walton Ford. I love his darkly historical paintings.
Eight: Tradition
My block printer’s wonderful archive of traditional prints. I always find something I haven’t seen before!
Nine: Locals
A fabulous team of Muslim hand-embroiderers that I work with. They take my designs and create a kind of magic.
Ten: Innovation
A mix of traditional skills channeled in a modern direction.
