India’s textile heritage figures prominently in Google’s fashion archives

Screen image of a section of Google’s “We Wear Culture” project.

Textile collections from museums and cultural institutions of India, along with at least three unique Indian weaving traditions — Baluchari, Patola and brocades — have featured in Google’s virtual exhibition project titled “We Wear Culture” .

Showcasing material collected from 183 renowned cultural institutions across 42 countries including India, the digital project showcases 30,000 photographs, videos and other documents on what people wear, the craft of textiles, key fashion movements and the icons of haute couture.

Kolkata’s Indian Museum, the country’s oldest museum with its rare collection of saris, shawls, skirts and kurtas from (1701 to 1991) has featured prominently in the exhibition under the section ‘textile traditions of India’.

Tribal designs

 

Textiles having different motifs and designs from northeastern India (1850-1980), mainly collected during anthropological fieldwork, are on display as important cultural artefacts. A 19th century warrior cloth worn by the Nagas — a black and red wrap with a white band in the middle having painted human figures — signifies the number of heads taken by the person.

Other unique cultural objects in the digital collection are the Pani Gamcha, a black cotton cloth with white stripes, used by the Meitei women in Manipur and the Kakat-Bandha, a narrow piece of yellow cotton cloth with embroidery work, used by the Bodo people.

The tradition of Baluchari sari weaving is as old as modern Bengal itself, said Jayanta Sengupta, director of Indian Museum, Kolkata. The digital collection shows Baluchari saris dating back to 19th century, with some of the pieces from the Tagore family.

With its origins in Murshidabad, the weaving tradition started from a village called Baluchar, which was submerged during a flood.

Google’s project also details the time-consuming craft of Patola saris, traditionally woven by the Salvi community of Gujarat and the richly decorative brocades, typically woven on a drawloom. The brocade weavers from Banaras have historically had a rich repertoire, producing not only saris but also skirts, patkas, turbans and ornate costumes and furnishings since the 17th century for the Mughal court.

Inside story

Amit Sood, Director of Google Arts & Culture, described the mega virtual exhibition as a “world fashion exhibit” and urged people to browse and listen to stories about what they wore.

 

“You might be surprised to find out that your sari, jeans or the black dress in your wardrobe has a centuries-old story. What you wear is true culture and, more often than not, a piece of art,” he said.

Global platform

Google Art and Culture, an online platform launched by Google in 2011, lets users explore artworks, artefacts and more from over 1,000 museums, archives and organisation across the world. It now includes fashion.

“What is interesting is that the exhibition at a very large scale captures style and fashion all over the world and Indian Museum is happy to be part of the worldwide collaboration,” Mr Sengupta said. The collections of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalay, Mumbai, are also on display.

A rare books section on Indian textiles and clothing from the 19th and early 20th century and a section on attire of the 19th and early 20th Century Bombay Presidency from Dr Bhau Daji Lad Mumbai City Museum, Mumbai, may also interest the connoisseur of fashion.