Rashmi Varma works at the intersection of garments, textiles, and objects.
Her practice is centred around cloth as second skin, the corporeal space, the performative act of wearing, the sculptural form of drape, the hands for thinking, and material truth. These inquiries are woven into a larger narrative that reframes the cultural and political legacies of design, craft, and identity.
Varma’s work negotiates aesthetic hybrids and contemporary perspectives. Grounded by a deep interest in material, process, and technique, she creates with karigars - craftspeople and artisan-designers throughout India, prioritising knowledge & skill sharing through experimentation.
Her interdisciplinary studio practice encompasses design commissions, curatorial projects, hand-craft advisory, costume design, and fibre arts. Varma’s notable projects include Infinite Drape, Serendipity Arts Festival (Curator 2025, Goa), and The Offbeat Sari, Design Museum (Associate Curator 2023, London). She is the co-author of Sar: The Essence of Indian Design (Phaidon Press 2016).
Varma’s works have been exhibited at the Victoria & Albert Museum (London), Design Museum (London), Wereldmuseum (Amsterdam), Museum of Contemporary Art (Toronto), Textile Museum of Canada (Toronto), among others.
Rashmi Varma lives and works between Montreal and India.
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