Soft silhouettes with striking kantha work: Earthwear's Made in Kolkata Collection

Modern sensibilities meet traditional crafts and indigenous fabrics at Earthwear, and their latest collection — Made in Kolkata, is a reflection of just that. A premium ensemble in cotton and silks designed exclusively to impart an urbane twist to Bengal’s indigenous craft sensibilities will attract any fashion-conscious lady, and we were mighty impressed with the contemporary silhouettes.

It’s time to move over kurtis as their work wear is chic, and will make quite an impression. Working on fabrics like cotton, chanderi silk, tussar and more, this collection plays a lot with the traditional crafts of Kantha from Bolpur, Santiniketan. We loved their white jamdani sleeveless shirt dress with heavy Kantha detailing on the blue belt. Again, a particular cowl pant in white with smart Kantha detailing on the crop top looked smart and sophisticated. Those who like layering can also find light cotton jackets with Kantha work. Designer and owner Vineeta Ganeriwala Gupta has intelligently used soothing shades of blue, brown and grey in her collection, and quite note-worthy is the asymmetrical kurti in grey with geometric Kantha work, flaunted gracefully by actor Sauraseni Maitra. “Made In Kolkata seeks to instill and bring out the specialised art of weaving and hand-embellishment practised by artisans of Bengal. We have used Kantha and Zardozi embroideries on handwoven, Jamdani and khadi fabrics in an attempt to combine the various art forms together in a contemporary context,” says Vineeta, who founded the flagship store in 2011, along with husband Manav. The 400 sq ft flagship store at New

Alipore is a one-stop-shop for a modern day women’s sartorial needs. Beyond their Made in Kolkata collection, we also found smart office wear, daily wear and festive wear. For those who love jazzing up their attire with stoles, the store has plenty of options. On rich fabrics like tussar, silk, Matka silk and more, Vineeta uses techniques like Kantha, tie-dye and more to create gorgeous stoles.

Apart from sourcing weaves from Bengal, you will also find Hyderabad’s Ikkat, Bhagalpur’s silks and Jaipur’s block-printed fabrics in muted shades of blue and green. Their collection of saris is also worth checking out with stunning cotton, jamdani and handloom saris waiting to be picked up for the upcoming puja season. We also spotted beautiful accessories including bespoke clutch bags, lockets and earrings that complete any fashion statement. With two more stores in Quest Mall and Avani Mall, and an imprint in Bhubaneshwar, Earthwear is working on a new collection, which they inform will be refreshing, and in tune with natural fabrics.