Ladies of Lune: Sense & Sustainability with Aditi Mayer
Today, the world is your oyster when it comes to digital content creation. Los Angeles- based Aditi Mayer is a multi-hyphenate who has harnessed this very medium to propel conversation centred on the pressing issues intertwined between fashion and sustainability. A photo-journalist, blogger and social activist she was named the Fulbright x National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellow in 2020 and has spent a large part of this year studying India’s agrarian system and local artisan communities, leading her to gain a holistic understanding of the country’s state of fashion. Bedecked in Lune’s latest Memories of Kasuti collection, Aditi engages in a candid dialogue about how her heritage has shaped her world view, pro-tips on being a conscious consumer, and jewellery that has her heart..
Interview: Tanya Mehta | Photography: Shreya Wankhede
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
1. You recently had the opportunity to visit your hometown in Punjab. Your family belongs to a farming community, a practice that is deeply integrated with your work. What was the experience like?
It was so special. There is a professional angle to my work but grounding that with personal family lineage is enriching. Recently, I have been reflecting about intergenerational knowledge transfer – about culture, the values that ground my work today and when I look at my childhood, a lot of those seeds were planted from spending my formative years with my grandparents. In the last five years I’ve really geared my understanding in sustainability through a South Asian lens and specifically a Punjabi lens. It was gratifying to witness the actual fruits of labour dating back generations – how a love of creating and artisanship are tied to your lineage. It was also great to experience a more spiritual and emotional connection to the land. In the West, sustainability is often reduced to quantitative hard science so, it was refreshing to see it unfurl in a more heart-centred space.
2. While the dialogue on sustainability addresses the industry at large, what we practice on an individual level is equally important. How can you be more conscious in the everyday?
Personally, it stems from this place of challenging disposability culture. Establishing your personal style is a very important tenet of sustainability because you’re not following a trend cycle but what speaks to you. It's this exercise of consuming less but also working with a brand to develop an intimate relationship to understand supply chain management. When you’re leading with a mentality of intention you end up making more conscious choices.
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
3. So many of our consumption choices today are shaped subliminally with the content we view on social media. How can consumers be more cognisant of choosing wisely, while operating a model that promotes the contrary?
One of the biggest drivers of fast fashion is social media, we observe this culture where nobody wants to be seen in the same outfit twice. Consider doing a cleanse of who you follow on social media and the values they represent. If you’re following someone who leads you to have the feeling of consuming at a quicker pace then that’s a red flag, unsubscribe from email blasts that trigger you to consume mindlessly. We live in the age of not only fast fashion but also fast media – so, the same tenet applies here. The content we consume shapes our subconscious and that needs to be re-accessed.
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
4. During your time in India you attended fashion week and interacted with homegrown designers more intimately. What were your key learnings?
India’s fashion landscape is so full of magic and potential because we have such a wide breadth of fabrics that are native to different regions. Simultaneously, we’re at a critical juncture where consumers value those things but are also quite distracted by logo-mania where it’s not so much about the quality of the outfit but more about what we put on it. We have a stark split between people who are taking a step back and asking deeper questions about cultural sustainability, and this is contrasted by another subset that is looking at what is celebrated in the West.
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
5. Over the years you’ve established a distinct personal style. How would you describe your aesthetic and what has moulded it since its inception?
What informs my style are silhouettes that are either very strong and structured or rooted in flow. It’s also about the texture and the material quality. I've become such a nerd for knowing the material make-up of a garment and by virtue of that, South Asian designers make up 80 per cent of my wardrobe. I love learning about regional craft, whether it’s phulkari from Punjab or muga silk from Assam.
6. What type of jewellery are you naturally drawn to?
I love gold jewellery and I’m drawn to larger pieces that have an element of detail and stand out. A piece I cherish the most is a ring my mom passed down to me that belongs to my dadi – that her father who was a goldsmith made for her. It’s a beautiful gold ring with hot pink ruby, and it really speaks to those themes of artisan craft in terms of lineage. And heirloom pieces that have been passed down are a great example of sustainability in action.
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
7. You had the chance to witness how jewellery design and manufacturing is carried out by Lune. There is an acute attention to detail and the brand doesn’t employ the use of moulds to create their pieces. What are your thoughts on this process?
As a culture, we have this crisis of connection where we’re so fixated on the end product and what that means for trends that we have lost sight of the makers behind these pieces. A return to the tactile and handmade is vital and brands that can showcase that are reforming the bond. Fast fashion has erased the connection between consumer and maker, and in the age of mass production, reviving artisan culture is the need of the hour.
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
8. You wore pieces from the Memories Of Kasuti collection that is inspired by an age old embroidery technique from Karnataka. What did you take away from this?
Designers are posed with so many options of what they can create, it is a unique power. And I love the concept of their unique take on existing design motifs, it’s a nod to another culture but showcasing it in a new light and that fusion is dynamic. This collection is so entrenched in culture and tradition with a contemporary vision, and the fact that it is sparking a dialogue about endangered crafts is remarkable.
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
9. What is your favourite part about being a journalist and blogger?
Because my work is so rooted in sustainability and fashion, my favourite part is the ability to look at these issues from a systemic and personal perspective – it’s about the balance. Fashion is such a personal endeavour in which we engage everyday but it's not frivolous by any means, it has large implications when it comes to the politics of labour and the environmental impact, hence we need both approaches to have an effect on diverse audiences.
Pictured above: Aditi wears a stack of Dual Pixel Bangles, Shimoga Choker,
XL Drift Hoops, Jaali Ear Cuffs and Lucia Rings
10. What do you love the most about living in LA?
It's often described as 52 neighbourhoods wrapped up into a city and each neighbourhood has such a distinct identity. I also love the access to green spaces, I am a city girl but the fact that the mountains, the desert and the beach are all accessible from LA is truly blissful.
11. What’s an underrated small joy right now?
I’ve been travelling for over 8 months. Home as a feeling and a concept is very special to me and returning to the familiarity of it and the ability to curate a safe space for myself is unparalleled.
About the author: Tanya Mehta is freelance fashion & features editor based in Mumbai. Formerly writing for Grazia, she now creates content for Bhaane and Ajio Luxe. When she’s not writing she likes people-watching, listening to psychology podcasts and eating cake