On Liminality: Interview with Fashion Designer Aadhya Deshmukh
What was the first garment or fashion collection you saw that made you realise the fashion industry was where you wanted to be?
I don’t think it was a single garment—it was more of a moment. Growing up, I was always drawn to art and design as a form of storytelling. But the turning point came when I started noticing how fashion collections could evoke emotion, almost like art installations. That realization- that fashion could communicate ideas, emotin, and we could carry that with us, made me certain this was where I belonged.
Tell us a little bit about your background and education - are you formally trained in design or self-taught?
I’m formally trained in fashion design and currently completing my degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. My education has given me a strong technical foundation, but I think my perspective comes just as much from my personal experiences. Growing up in India, I was surrounded by craft, textiles, and from that, deeply rooted cultural narratives. So it’s really a combination of structured training and intuitive, personal exploration.
If money was no object, what would your dream collection revolve around? What feelings or concepts would you materialise?
My dream collection would fully explore liminality - the space between states of being. I’m especially drawn to themes like dissociation, for example. I like the idea of using art to show science. With unlimited resources, I’d experiment with unconventional materials that utilise more modern technologies, I’d use complex tailoring that takes really experienced workers to create sculptural silhouettes, and present it in an immersive staging formats to present it to the world. I’d want people to feel unsettled but seen by my work.
When people wear my clothes, I want them to feel like they’ve stepped into a physical manifestation of something they’ve experienced but never been able to articulate.
What’s your dream for the fashion industry? What do you wish was more commonplace, and what would you get rid of?
I wish the industry valued depth over speed a bit more. I’d love to see more emphasis on storytelling, craftsmanship, and emotional resonance that creates communities rather than just trend cycles. At the moment it feels as though the fashion industry is just responding to lots and lots of micro-trends that happen to us, rather than something we create the demand for. If I could get rid of anything, it would be the pressure to constantly produce at an unsustainable pace. Creativity needs time, and I think the industry often forgets that.
How do you remain motivated and committed to excellence in the age of AI and fast fashion?
For me, it comes down to intention. My intention is to make clothing using something that’s so difficult to capture in a physical form. Liminality and the emotions that exist in that can be subjective, and its the human element of how we experience fashion that makes it such a worthwhile industry. AI and fast fashion can replicate aesthetics, but they can’t replicate lived experience or emotional depth. AI could never interpret my work with the same soul a person who wears my clothes would. I stay motivated by focusing on what makes my perspective irreplaceable- my background, my thoughts, my obsessions. Excellence, to me, is about authenticity and detail, not speed.
You find inspiration in esoteric ways - what’s the biggest advice you can give to other designers to help them remain unique?
Pay attention to what you’re naturally drawn to, especially if it doesn’t make immediate sense. I place a lot of faith in my process and I explore patterns of thought that may not be relevant immediately, but I have found that in the end, all of it had to happen to get me to my end results. The things that feel strange, personal, or even uncomfortable are often where your strongest ideas live. Don’t dilute them to make them more “acceptable.” Your individuality is your biggest asset and you should lean into it fully.
What does nobody tell you about owning a fashion label?
How much of it has nothing to do with design! You’re constantly balancing creativity with logistics, finances, production, and communication. It requires a completely different kind of discipline than just creating. There’s a lot of deadlines and you need to be very procative. Also, how important resilience is - you hear “no” far more often than “yes.”
What’s next for you? What can we expect in the next few years?
In the next few years, I want to continue building a distinct visual language through my collections, creating more lore behind my collections through fashion storytelling while refining my technical skillset along the way. I’m interested in expanding beyond garments into more immersive experiences, possibly incorporating installation, and film into my work. Ultimately, I want to create work that exists at the intersection of fashion and art, and that leaves a lasting emotional impact.
You can learn more about Aadhya on their website here: https://aadhyadeshmukh.com/garments