The meeting of industrial designers Charles and Ray Eames and Jawaharlal Nehru inspires the background to our collection. They form a modern interpretation of what three visionary pioneers may well have worn to their inspired meeting today, possibly under a coconut tree sipping masala chai.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of the newly independent nation-state of India, invited the Eames’s to help provide a catalyst of change, newness and creativity for the developing country. The Eames’ were enlisted to assist with this challenge, along with a host of other scientists, engineers, designers, and architects from Europe and North America. Their frequent travel throughout the 1950s and 60s sparked a global fascination with non-west design, in film, architecture and exhibition. The Eames Report was the first attempt by a developing nation to utilise design principles as a tool for national regeneration. The many bright children seen in the villages inspired the report; curious, open, active, beautiful young people with tremendous potential.