We profile designer Jatin Patel and hear about his bespoke brand Kalikas Armour and the shift change in Medway’s cultural vision

“What fashion was then to what it is now is poles apart. Back in the late 90s, fast fashion just didn’t exist as much,” says Jatin. “In those days, ‘high street’ was considered a dirty word in terms of the high-end of fashion. Ironically, five years later, the high street almost took over the fashion industry.”

Jatin Patel has been in the fashion industry for almost 20 years. The Rochester-based designer founded Kalikas Armour (@jatinkalikasarmour), a bespoke clothing brand that focuses on individual creations. But Jatin has also been one of the key players in Medway’s recent bid to become the UK City of Culture 2025.

Shortly before we went to print, it was announced that, while Medway was one of just 20 candidates in the running for the title, it didn’t make it to the final shortlist. And while this is disappointing given the national interest winning the title could bring, the wheels are already in motion to put creativity at the forefront of the area’s long-term vision.

“In the wider context of everything with the City of Culture bid, people’s vision, dedication and commitment has been phenomenal,” says Jatin. “There’s so many people doing things and doing their bit for the bigger picture.

“It is creating something for the future. It is a massive step change.”

Starting out as a partnership between various organisations to create a 10-year cultural strategy, the Creative Medway group and the resulting Medway 2025 Bid has set about investigating how culture and creativity could enhance and help regenerate the area.

Jatin has been involved since the process began in 2019, eventually applying and winning a place as a co-chair on the board of trustees.

“It’s a much more open and connected way for information to travel, new opportunities to be created, new partnerships and just for people to get together and share resources and ideas.”

While the development into a creative and cultural centre is now well under way in Medway – including the much-talked-about Chatham Intra area, within the Star Hill to Sun Pier Conservation Area that covers parts of Chatham and Rochester, which was awarded government funding last year – it was a different place when Jatin arrived back in the late 90s.

FINDING A PATH

Originally from the Midlands, Jatin grew up in an Indian community where “the arts was seen as a hobby rather than anything to make a career out of”.

It wasn’t until his stint at Loughborough Art College that Jatin developed his passion for fashion and used his creative side to start a journey towards a life in the industry.

“I had multiple things going on while growing up as a gay man,” he explains. “I had that going on and ‘how do I express myself?’ and it was all coming through my work.”

Making the decision to head south, he arrived at what was then Kiad (Kent Institute of Art & Design), where he learned – very quickly – how to make clothes.

“I was fascinated how a sketch or an idea for a bit of material can transform into a 3D piece,” he recalls. “It was learning the skills of pattern cutting and pattern drafting that really fascinated me. And how clothes can change how you feel and how you look and how people see you.”

Jatin’s work looks to get people thinking and, later, when completing his Master’s degree at UCA Rochester, his paper was centred on the language of clothes and their different levels of power.

“I wrote my whole paper on the suit and how the jacket is traditionally workwear with levels of authority and power and real status”, he says. “I broke the jacket down into a mathematical equation. So, what sort of power does a single or a double lapel portray, or single- and double-breasted, and I started adding in levels of drapery as feminine. Just really messing around with shapes and really mixing it up.”

On leaving education, Jatin took an internship with world-renowned designer Robert Cary-Williams, where he took his initial first steps into the often-unforgiving fashion world.

KALIKAS ARMOUR

Working at a couple of large high street brands, where he witnessed fast production and ‘dirty practices’ to bring in garments at low prices – including a pair of jeans at less than £1 (including shipping!) – he realised his true passion was in the smaller run and the bespoke and brought to life Kalikas Armour, a brand he started during his time at UCA.

“At the time it was about celebrating womanhood and the essence of power and protection and the duality of that real feminine idea of softness and protectiveness in contrast with that real harsh power and fierceness,” he says.

Going it alone, Jatin started out with a wholesale business model in the sense of creating a ready-to-wear collection and showcasing it either at a trade fair or at a physical fashion week, even being picked to showcase at the Royal Academy for London Fashion Week and at Prêt à Porter in Paris.

But remaining principled and wanting everything to be made in the UK meant doing shorter runs was not viable.

“We found that word of mouth was working more,” explains Jatin. “Direct-to-client became our new model and I found a lot more contentment out of that – having a working relationship with somebody to create something exclusive for them.”

Individuality is at the core of Kalikas Armour, with anything from evening and bridal gowns to men’s tailoring.

A recent local collaboration saw the brand work with the Electric Medway digital arts festival on an immersive experience focused on energy and the universe.

“We built a room within a room and draped loads of fabric to make it like a cave. It was a real attack on the senses with the lights and smells.”

But arguably his most high-profile work was the Majestic Mystics show at the 2018 Fashion Week as part of the Fashion For Conservation event.

“They’d seen some of my work and asked if I’d like to be a part of this show to celebrate the Amazon rainforest. They’re an American charity but were doing stuff on the ground, like building their own scientific research centre in the Amazon rather than just being a singing and dancing charity.

“It was all about this secret tribe that I created in my head with this poem and story about these female warriors in the jungle. The accomplishment I felt watching it go off backstage made me go ‘This is why we do it’.”

Shortly before the pandemic, Jatin’s work was once again picked up, this time receiving national press attention, to be used to raise money for the Elephant Family charity. Kalikas Armour created 12 elephant masks (pictured) bought by high-profile clients at The Animal Ball, which was attended by celebrities and royals alike.

With events coming back into play as we near the end of 2021, Jatin will begin to develop bespoke creations once more. He says: “No day is the same. I never wanted a nine-to-five job, and the universe delivered.”