Kaushik Velendra, 31, is very open about the culture shock he faced when he landed in the UK as a student at the prestigious Central Saint Martins. “It nearly broke me,” he says on a video call one afternoon, referring to how overwhelmed he had felt when he had to transition to a whole new country. The processes and systems are totally different, he shares. “You’re already here for a short period of time, say two years, of which a few months go into just adapting to the food, the environment and the everyday life. This is distracting; it makes you lose time, sets you back when your competition is already so high, and breaks your confidence. This is often a reason why a lot of people don’t succeed coming in from countries India.”
This was the main reason Velendra had his Hoxton Square atelier — once occupied by Alexander McQueen — open during the pandemic. “It was a creative, safe space for older students who came in from India, Pakistan, Iran, Sri Lanka and all the countries that generally face a lot of culture shock issues,” the menswear designer explains. “We kept it open and allowed people to come in and use the space during weekends, off hours when the curfew wasn’t tight, to feel mentally strong and to have a space to go to.” This is in line with the designer’s vision — to bring India to the world, not in the “Bollywood” sense, but by showcasing craftsmanship and through the spirit of hospitality.
