Tag: indianfabric

22
Apr

Roop – A tale of transformation.

Posted by / Handloom, Upcycled Indian Couture

Like a beautiful crystal, found naturally in an ore, Roop is the unpolished essence of change, a restoration of generational heirlooms. Like her grandmother before her, Roop is the complexity of youth woven in the same Banarsi saree, in the simplicity of its form.

Priyanka Raajiv endeavors to intertwine the threads of this connection that transcends time and weave a story within traditional handloom fabric. A parallel softness lies in the narrative of restoration: it is done carefully with the expert skill of artisans who have learned the craft from their grandparents.

The Indian fashion designer began imbibing upcycling from day 1 into the brand philosophy and gave it a signature touch. The modern woman yearns for a continuation of intuitively structured pieces while metamorphosis takes place with millennial sensibilities. Bringing about this balance of perspective in a saree or a lehenga is intricate work, taking minute details to give the antiquity an artistic finesse.

Taking a 100-year-old Paithani saree or a 30-year-old kurta that is worn out and adorning it to create eloquent pieces of urban shade is a skill that revolves around the fourth R of sustainability- repurpose. A grandmother or a mother-in-law cherishes the memories tied into the loom of each saree, each lehenga that they have doned as a kaleidoscopic shrine of their life.

To pass this on, Priyanka Raajiv consults her clients with a honed knowledge of silhouettes and fabrics, writing biographies into a restoration, like a family repository hidden in its essence. The soul of this process lies in the translation of retaining the exclusivity of a piece while using antique zardozi, sequins, and embroidery to reveal the deliberate rarity of the original fabric.

Roop has been an essential part of Priyanka Raajiv label since it’s conception, curated with an eco-conscious mindset, storytelling within a garment’s unrestricted flow: a tale of transformation.

15
Jan

A wrinkle in time: Ambi by Sujata Pai

Posted by / Uncategorized

Ambi by Sujata Pai has a distinct quality of making unique and cherished sarees from the rich heirloom of India. Her vision to showcase Indian textiles with a different eye is threaded through a needle passing through the time it has taken to inculcate this skill into a community of weaver families.

The simplicity of this concept is that it’s homegrown, tracing our roots back to ancient folklore and fables. These are etched into the motifs that are typically used in Ambi sarees- mango motifs, to follow the name, peacock feathers on a breezy pallu, elegant paisley pattern, lotus, and animal motifs. Her home base being Chennai, she herself is a voyager, setting up her printing in Delhi, and empowering weavers from all across the country with specialized local skills that make them unanimous experts in the craft of a particular weave.

The ancient weaves that have traveled from as far as the Byzantine empire are seen in Ambi’s one of a kind piece, embroidered with zari from Kutch mud plains of Gujarat. Ambi brings together fabrics and weaves of fine artistry and craftsmanship with a beautiful movement that creates a singular element to diversity. From the Banaras tradition to mulberry silkworm that has woven light as air Maheshwari silk, the sarees are a poetic eulogy to lost crafts.

The sunsets of South Indian hills fall over one fabric that takes to the Gota Patti work of Rajasthan sand dunes, and in the magic of the desert night, slip to the Bramhaputra with Muga Buta silk, the identity of Assam for a new dawn.

This journey of fabrics is seen in every piece by Ambi, cherishing crafts long borrowed from the 20th century France, antiques of Bali and even so far back as the Persian dynasties, breathing innovation in these threaded creations.

Woven seamlessly into one piece, the fabrics are intuitively in tandem, a dance of hues and patterns that carry the remnants of age-old heritage.

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