Sanjay Garg talks about art and craft coming together in his brand Raw Mango

Sanjay Garg’s saris occupy a pride of place in V&A in London but on a recent visit to Bengaluru, the designer says, he wants to be celebrated in his country first

People want only more of Raw Mango ever since the brand made its debut in 2008. Textile designer Sanjay Garg, the brain behind the label, has taken it to dizzying heights where everyone from Bollywood celebrities like Deepika Padukone, Vidya Balan, Sonam Kapoor, Ali Bhatt, Kajol, Konkona Sen Sharma to any well-heeled woman wants a bite from the Mango where traditional textiles find a new vocabulary.

The Delhi-based designer has a lot of following in Bengaluru as well. The NIFT-trained designer was here last week to showcase his latest collection ‘Cloud People’ at Cinnamon. On the occasion, a discussion with Sunitha Kumar of Gallery SKE saw the two talk about textiles, crafts, saris and contemporary designs. He wondered how the sari would have evolved if there was no concept of the West. “Right now, you have something to compare it with like trousers. Is tradition passé, not contemporary? My work is always contemporary. Who decides that this design will live for 10 years? Some designs live on for 500 years,” stated Sanjay.

Excerpts from an interview:

When does a piece of garment become an art work? I ask you this because The Victoria and Albert Museum in London owns a couple of your pieces. The Museum of Modern Art also included Raw Mango pieces in their fashion exhibit ‘Items: Is Fashion Modern?’, curated by Paola Antonelli, in 2017.

I am still questioning if art has to be unique. Who decides that art can’t be functional. If you look at our history, the word kala (art), was part of our day-to-day life. Kala of cooking, kala of stitching, embroidery... the separation happened later and I totally disagree with it. Some of our rituals and customs are like performances. What are mandanas, the floor paintings in Rajasthan?

And yes, it is a great thing to have your works acquired by such well-known museums but I would have been happier if they were acquired by, say a museum in Aurangabad or Nagpur. Why does it happen that we have to become well-known outside the country and only then get some credit back home?

Tips to keep your silks in impeccable condition

For as long as we remember, we have only heard sad stories about our weavers. After GST came in, we heard, that weavers in Banaras, are quitting their profession and some of them have become auto-rickshaw drivers...

We have heard these stories because we have always liked to hear these stories. We have been sold these poignant stories of a bechara-gareeb weaver. I am not saying things are great there or they are same as they were some 100 years ago. A lot needs to be done to make their conditions better and to improve the quality of the weavers. We need a lot of awareness to understand the issue well. I have added 50 more looms in Varanasi last week.

Since you add one new textile to your stable every year, what is it for 2018?

It’s chikankari. We have done it on georgette, on Bengal mull, zardozi and handwoven brocade with an imagery which is very different from the usual floral and geometric motifs. There are mythical symbols, clouds, angels in flight. I would also like to work with Mangalagiri, Venkatgiri, Kanche cotton and Gadwal which have lost their charm but I think it’s already too late.

Weave tales

Any suggestions to improve the condition of our weavers?

I think by just practising ethical business, we can do our bit. And as designers, we have to keep coming up with better ideas to create and then sustain the interest of our buyers. All my Chanderi looms, Mashru looms and Banaras looms are working to their full capacity.