Real designing does not start with decoration, but with observation. It does not inquire how it is possible to make something louder, but how it can be experienced. At Absent Findings, all their decisions are driven by this belief, be it in material choice, silhouette, color and construction. Clothing is not made as an extension of trend, but an expression of experience. The Raglan Sleeve Bowling Shirt is one of the products which shares this same ideology, where it is crafted on a profound belief that an apparel must prefigure movement, texture, and silent presence instead of being superficially flourished.
In the most considered way of thinking about design, it recognizes the fact that clothes exist in space and time. Clothes do not simply cover the body; they answer our lifestyles, movements and rest. They tend to replicate our gestures, memories, and even breath. The Raglan Sleeve Bowling Shirt represents this practice by having a shape that is familiar yet re-examined with softness. It does not occur; it is realized.
Crafted with Design and Intent
The core of this shirt is its base which is made of deadstock rayon, not because it is new, but because it has a soft hand, flows like water, and because it breathes well. Rayon is lightweight, and therefore the fabric reacts to the natural movement in a whispering technique.
The rear of the shirt is draped in a loose, flowing, long manner, lengthening the story. The cropped front of the shirt is not random choice but is deliberate in showing the silent perception of movement. The garment is animate which reacts to stride, posture and gesture in a manner which the inanimate design can seldom have. It is clothes that occupy space instead of space filling.
This fluidity is further enhanced by the raglan sleeves which are designed with a seamless flow of the neckline to the underarm. In this case, detail is narrative. Heirloom silk sari lining goes through the sleeves and in the body of the shirt; a memory line has been sewed into each piece. This silk is not used as a surface appeal, it is a link to material descent, a means by which the garment carries stories already. Every work is turned into one of a kind, and it is distinguished by the details that could be offered by hand-made fabrics only.
The subdued green color reminds the palette of place, the sun-tone greens of the UAE. It is not a green, glittering and glowing; but a green thus moderated by air, diluted by soil and radiance. It is cool, natural, and soothing to the eyes. This is a shade that is inspired by the real life and not a computer-generated inspiration board. It portrays an inside out view of the world rather than an outside in view.
In a world where fashion tends to focus on the show, The Raglan Sleeve Bowling Shirt makes fashion go back to its origins: the body, the cloth, the occasion. It is a lesson by Absent Findings that clothes do not have to be obnoxious to be significant, in some cases, it just has to be alive.