Fortunately for Pune-based artist and designer Tiasunep Aier, growing up without cable television in a small town of Nagaland turned out to be a serendipitous escape. In a generation where most millennials can’t do without the dopamine highs of ‘likes’ and ‘retweets’, the 28-year-old’s blissful oblivion drove him towards the Marvel and DC comics, music and art. This initial exploration while growing up led to the establishment of his first independent venture, clothing and design label Oldcabin in 2017.
Advertisement
Why Oldcabin is even more relevant one year on has a lot to do with the label’s strong bond with Aier’s homestate and its strong fashion culture. In an almost poetic act of justice, Aier taps into the market of streetwear without collapsing into the trap of ghetto-fabulous. His niche label comprises a range of streetwear such as T-shirts, hoodies and totes, and fuses these fabrics with fascinating motifs (created by him) as well as Japanese typefont. Not one to put himself as a face of his brand, Aier lets his creations speak for themselves.VICE got Aier to open up about the label, identity and creating art in the Doordarshan era in smalltown India:VICE: How did it all begin?
Tiasunep Aier: I started Oldcabin as a streetwear clothing company in 2017 around January. There was no official launch and it started really small with just a couple of designs as it was more of an experiment . I was lucky enough to have a friend early into this journey who is into textiles and does screen-printing. Before working with screen-printing, I would hand-paint my own T-shirts. It didn’t always come out great but that never bothered me. Having cool artworks on the T-shirt was all I wanted. I would care less about its sizes, colours or even the fabric quality until recently.
Tiasunep Aier: I started Oldcabin as a streetwear clothing company in 2017 around January. There was no official launch and it started really small with just a couple of designs as it was more of an experiment . I was lucky enough to have a friend early into this journey who is into textiles and does screen-printing. Before working with screen-printing, I would hand-paint my own T-shirts. It didn’t always come out great but that never bothered me. Having cool artworks on the T-shirt was all I wanted. I would care less about its sizes, colours or even the fabric quality until recently.
Could you talk about growing up in Nagaland, and how it honed your art?
I grew up in this little town of Nagaland called Chumukedima where the only access to anything I was interested in was on TV and comics. Cable television for people like us was pretty luxurious then, and so it wasn’t everyday that you see inspiring stuff on Doordarshan. One could not imagine any sort of art to be pursued as a career. Almost everyone had this implanted idea that government job is the ultimate goal. Fortunately during high school, I made some friends who used to draw as well. We would regularly update one another what we have been drawing. It was like some mini art exhibition among friends in the classroom. To me, that was really inspiring; to see others’ actual art on paper and not only on TV and magazines.
I grew up in this little town of Nagaland called Chumukedima where the only access to anything I was interested in was on TV and comics. Cable television for people like us was pretty luxurious then, and so it wasn’t everyday that you see inspiring stuff on Doordarshan. One could not imagine any sort of art to be pursued as a career. Almost everyone had this implanted idea that government job is the ultimate goal. Fortunately during high school, I made some friends who used to draw as well. We would regularly update one another what we have been drawing. It was like some mini art exhibition among friends in the classroom. To me, that was really inspiring; to see others’ actual art on paper and not only on TV and magazines.
Advertisement
How did comics become a gateway to design?
Marvel and DC comics were a huge inspiration to me. I remember trading comic books with my friends in school and get home not only to read but to sketch all the cool poses of the superheroes. I wasn’t maintaining a sketchbook then, so the last few pages of all my school note books were a mess. They were filled with doodles and portraits of my favourite musicians. The transition from drawing on paper to painting on fabric happened eventually and then from painting to finally printing them.Could you tell us the inspirations behind your recurring motifs?
While some of them have some serious message or meaning to it, like the ‘Surveillance’ (the eye) was inspired from the book 1984 by George Orwell, there are designs like ‘Sutori’, ‘Bloom’ and ‘OC’, which are designed purely from the visual point of view—very straight-forward and speak for themselves.
Marvel and DC comics were a huge inspiration to me. I remember trading comic books with my friends in school and get home not only to read but to sketch all the cool poses of the superheroes. I wasn’t maintaining a sketchbook then, so the last few pages of all my school note books were a mess. They were filled with doodles and portraits of my favourite musicians. The transition from drawing on paper to painting on fabric happened eventually and then from painting to finally printing them.Could you tell us the inspirations behind your recurring motifs?
While some of them have some serious message or meaning to it, like the ‘Surveillance’ (the eye) was inspired from the book 1984 by George Orwell, there are designs like ‘Sutori’, ‘Bloom’ and ‘OC’, which are designed purely from the visual point of view—very straight-forward and speak for themselves.
There’s a lot of Japanese typefont on your works.
I think the [Japanese] characters are beautiful. Japanese texts are pretty popular in urban street styles. Again, I use them purely for aesthetic reasons, and I plan to use Hindi as well. To me, they're just beautiful typefonts.Why do you prefer anonymity when it comes to representing your label?
According to me, Oldcabin is the identity, not me. I want people to remember the product and the brand name. It’s not like I want to be this mysterious figure behind this company. My friends and my few followers on social media know about it and they’re supportive. It’s just this idea of me being uncomfortable of having my image as a distraction as we talk about a brand and its products.
I think the [Japanese] characters are beautiful. Japanese texts are pretty popular in urban street styles. Again, I use them purely for aesthetic reasons, and I plan to use Hindi as well. To me, they're just beautiful typefonts.Why do you prefer anonymity when it comes to representing your label?
According to me, Oldcabin is the identity, not me. I want people to remember the product and the brand name. It’s not like I want to be this mysterious figure behind this company. My friends and my few followers on social media know about it and they’re supportive. It’s just this idea of me being uncomfortable of having my image as a distraction as we talk about a brand and its products.
What’s Oldcabin's future looking like?
I’m currently working in a design studio as a senior graphic designer, and although I enjoy my work, I’m actually very excited to venture out by quitting my job in a few weeks. Yeaapppp!!! These next few couple of months are going to be crucial but I can’t wait to experience it.That, and I’m working on some more new hoodies and Tshirts designs and hope to get them ready by the end of September.Oldcabin’s official website will soon be launched at www.oldcabin.in
I’m currently working in a design studio as a senior graphic designer, and although I enjoy my work, I’m actually very excited to venture out by quitting my job in a few weeks. Yeaapppp!!! These next few couple of months are going to be crucial but I can’t wait to experience it.That, and I’m working on some more new hoodies and Tshirts designs and hope to get them ready by the end of September.Oldcabin’s official website will soon be launched at www.oldcabin.in