In order to move forward and stay relevant, innovation is key. And it is no different with India’s rich reserve of handwoven fabrics. Even as dozens of designers across the country do their bit to revive the dying handloom industry, a handful of designers have already taken that next step — one that involves thinking outside the box, creating new fabrics, while also celebrating what we already have. Think Merino wool and silk blends that are as sheer as chiffon, ikat tussar saris and so on. We talk to the designers behind these novel weaves...
Vaishali Shadangule
Vaishali Shadangule may have made headlines for showcasing at the Paris Haute Couture Week (PHCW) recently, but her work with handloom weaves has been ongoing since she launched her label in July 2001. In the past two decades, the 43-year-old-designer, who grew up in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, has gone from participating at the fashion weeks in India to being part of trade shows in London, Milan, and Los Angeles, and New York Fashion Week, each time making her case for India’s exquisite weaves, but with a global design language.
“We have such a rich heritage of weaves in India. So instead of creating new textiles, I am interested in experimenting with the existing ones. For instance, when I came across the khunn fabric which is traditionally used to make blouses, I decided to create saris from the same fabric,” says Vaishali, whose other innovations include a linen and Murshidabad silk textile woven in Benaras. Apart from khunn, her collection in Paris, entitled Shwas, featured another of her innovative weaves — a blend of Merino wool and Chanderi silk. “The fabric is sheer and so fine that people were amazed that it is wool,” says the designer, adding, “In India, we cover the fabric with embroidery, because we think that that is luxury. But I believe that handwoven fabrics are beautiful just by themselves. Innovation to me is about enhancing the weaves we already have by blending textiles, trying out new draping techniques, textures and silhouettes, instead of overpowering the fabric with embellishments,” explains Vaishali, whose sculptural, pleated and avant-garde silhouettes made everyone sit up and take notice at Lycee Victor Duruy, the Paris high school where her showcase at PHCW was held. So it goes without saying that textile innovation is at the core of her design DNA. “India used to have 300 to 400 weaves. Now we have about 130. So it is very important that we innovate and revive what we have left,” she says, signing off.
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Kaveri Lalchand
You think of handloom in Chennai and many names come to your mind. A name that one wouldn’t immediately associate with handloom however is Kaveri Lalchand, the brains behind the brand Kaveri. She is more famously known as a couture designer who has mainstreamed linen as a fashion statement for women of all sizes. But there’s another side to Kaveri as we soon discover. “I love ikat. I find the whole process so fascinating — that the design is created by dyeing patterns on the yarn prior to weaving the fabric. It’s very similar to the way I work with linen and my love for linen is well known,” explains Kaveri. “Usually, only silk and cotton ikat fabrics are woven, but I wanted to do something similar with linen. To marry the two was something simply so exciting for me. So, I sent kilos of linen yarn to a weaver in Kutch — and yes I was told at first it could not be done, then I was told that it could be done, but it will take a long time, there will be defects, etc. But I kept at it and we developed some beautiful linen ikat fabrics,” she adds. Her collection of ikat on linen is yet to be released, but while she works with weavers on it, she has also begun working on other similar projects.
“We are developing more ikat designs and also experimenting with everything linen — eco printing, ajrakh prints, rogan prints. There is only one family left that does rogan printing now in India. We used this form of printing in contemporary shapes on our linen garments. As fashion consumers we do need to pledge to wear and gift traditional handlooms — and as part of the fashion fraternity, and as someone who just loves all traditional textiles, I pledge to do what I can to keep our traditional textile arts alive,” the designer sums up.
Gaurang Shah
At the core of Hyderabad-based designer Gaurang Shah’s designs is a sharp focus on Indian weaves. His innovation and use of textiles from the heartlands of the country spans 20 years, 16 states, and 7,000 weavers. What sets him apart is how he constantly and boldly experiments. For instance, in one of his earlier collections, Chitravali, he created a mesmerising mix of textiles and craft — kalamkari on Kanjeevaram, chikankari on tussar from Uttar Pradesh. The end result was rather extraordinary. “The splash of colours in the collection is predominated by natural dyes extracted from the bark, flower and root of plants. Kasaya red is derived from madder and pomegranate seeds, earthen yellow is from haldi, black is achieved by mixing iron and jaggery, moss green by mixing indigo and myrobalan. All these were blended to produce innumerable shades in kalamkari and in Kanjeevaram,” shares the textile savant, patiently explaining what goes into the making of these mixed weaves. He adds that in Chitravali, the kalamkari paintings were created using natural dyes and involved 17 tedious steps to process, while a lone master painter replicated the frescoes of the caves. One of the highlights of Chiravali was a unique collection of Kanjeevaram silks where bright colours are subdued in the natural dyes, yet he shared, it maintained the richness that was fitting for the inspiration drawn from temple tales using the korvai weaving technique.
Over the years, what has helped his cause is that he is on a constant lookout to invent and introduce jamdani weave as it has never been seen before. He adds, “I choose weaves that blend culture, history and yet are modern and timeless. I love experimenting and bringing grandiose ancient Indian art alive on textiles.” He is a strong advocate of textile innovation and wants to see handlooms evolve with time, and yet retain their beauty. It is also important to keep highly skilled artisans in the business. “Textile innovation is crucial for the sustainability of India’s jamdani heritage. It must inspire generations now and in the future. Innovation also challenges the weaver in the looms and helps them stay connected with the fashion world and strengthens their craft capabilities, and uplifts their economic status. To me, they are the pillars of sustainability,” informs Gaurang. The designer is constantly busy interacting with weavers, and taking bolder strides when it comes to observing and bringing changes in handloom techniques and styles. “I love to create intricate jamdani weaves and combine them with other heritage textiles like khadi, silk and organza. The synthesis of these textiles and traditional motifs and contemporary textures result in a striking collection every season,” he states. One can see newer forms in his upcoming work comprising heirloom saris and heritage ensembles.
Gunjan Jain
We first heard of Gunjan Jain and her brand Vriksh (based in Delhi) from textile researchers. She is a popular name for her innovative experiments with fabrics, yarn and textiles native to Odisha. “Ikat and Odisha go hand in hand, but tussar and ikat was something that no one was doing. We dug around a little bit and found out that some weavers had experimented with it in the distant past and so we decided to revive the experiment before the art was forgotten. What came out of it became our recentikat-tussar collection,” explains the designer. But what drives this innovation in a market that is already comfortable with the diverse choices available? Why would a brand like Vriksh experiment with fabric in such a manner?
“Innovation ensures the continuity of these traditions in new ways and ensures that our artisans have a steady demand for their product. So the more we innovate and create, the more we expand the market for the weaver and the whole industry. And on the other side of the spectrum, it gives each client a con- scious experience and a unique identity through what can only be defined as wearable art,” answers Gunjan. With ikat on tussar silk conquered, what’s next for the brand, we ask. “For the first time in India, we have adopted woven shibori to the already prevalent jala (extra weft) technique that is native to Odisha. We hope that juxtaposing two different techniques will create a brand new weave,” she adds.