As handloom slowly but surely finds its way back in wardrobes of the young and the restless, it is time to acknowledge the pioneering work done by enterprising women who have bridged the widening gap between artisans and designers in their own creative way. They have converted handloom into affordable luxury to keep alive our rich traditional fabric at a crucial juncture when many Indian designers are succumbing to the temptation of using flashy shimmering imported fabric as it commercially saves them from paying wages to local artisans. They don’t realise that children of these artisans would not be able to keep the tradition alive.
According to veteran Laila Tyabji, crafts revivalist and one of the founders of Dastkar, designers need to be aware that there are hundreds of marvellous regional Indian weaves and techniques. “Most of them were developed as draped un-stitched saris or dhotis. Therefore, they do not necessarily translate well to cut and stitched garments. You can gain inspiration from the weave and motifs of a traditional Banarsi or ikat sari but you cannot successfully cut it into a tailored kurta or gown. So, if they want to design Western wear, the fabric itself needs working on. We need textile technicians developing and adapting both the loom and the weave itself, before designer comes in to develop collections,” she says.
The way forward
Explaining how the indigenous fabric can become the most preferred choice, Tyabji says: “Very few existing indigenous Indian handlooms are suitable for applications that textiles are used for internationally — whether tailored garments or upholstery fabric. Even our heavier wools and tussars are too loosely constructed. They stretch and pull. Most cottons and silks also require careful hand laundering. So textile technology interventions are required if we are to capture an international market. We ourselves in Dastkar concentrate primarily on our huge domestic Indian market, which still uses and wears these kind of fabrics, developed over the years to suit our climate and wearing styles. Targeting an Indian consumer and tweaking and contemporising motifs, colours and applications to suit is easier for rural craftspeople than entering an unknown and competitive foreign market.”
Laila Tyabji with craft women
Pointing out that there is place for both machine-made and handwoven to co-exist, she says: “Each has different attributes, and the strengths of each are quite different. The machine can provide cheaper and possibly more durable fabrics, but can never replicate the range, variety and dexterity of Indian handloom weaves and motifs. We are lucky to have such a multilayered consumer base in India, and should strategically target niche segments for each category of textile production.”
She feels need of the hour is consumer awareness that handloom has special aesthetic, cultural and environmental attributes and they need to be valued as such. “It should not be treated as the mill sector’s inferior step-sister! Customers also need to get used to the idea that handmade will cost more, but that it's worth it. Today there is so much talk of “luxury” brands, but handloom is never counted as one of them.”
Youth appeal
Anuradha Ramam, who has been using handloom for the past 12 years, says supporting weavers and their family has always been her focus.
Recounting her commitment to indigenous fabric, she says: “My challenge from the onset has been not only to promote Indian handloom but also to see that the younger generation is also wearing them. The western influence of synthetic fabrics and spandex is rampantly eating into the very fabric of Indian tradition and belief. Designing western silhouettes with Indian handloom was the key to entice the younger generation to come into the fold. Not only do they look different in style and design it also makes them stand out and unique.”
Noting that promoting weavers at grassroots is the only way for Indian handloom to be preferred globally, she says: “Promoting the use of Indian handloom and promoting it at fashion shows, global meets will showcase our unique tradition to the whole world. Our Indian handloom fabrics are exceptional in design, colour and beauty.
More and more designers should be using this and promoting our tradition by contemporarising them for a global appeal.”
Element of exclusivity
Meanwhile Latha Puttanna, who is crafting fashion true to Indian tradition for the past 25 years, says the current scenario is largely a challenge to those who go in for mass-production.
Latha Puttanna
“The shift from labour to mechanisation makes it cheaper for them, but I think they lose on that key element of exclusivity. For me though, we are in a space of personal design. We customise everything, including the weaves. Our stringent adherence to quality and design leaves us unaffected, to a large extent, by imported machines and the cascading impact on quality and cost.”
