Taking indian weaves to the world, one collection at a time
It’s only now that the world has started talking about sustainability, but if you look at the clothes of our ancesters, even 40-50 years back, everything was handwoven, organic, and thereby sustainable. It is our responsibility to reduce our carbon foot print and for that, handloom is the only way forward. No western nation has as rich a textile heritage as India. Why look elsewhere?
WEAR A SAREE, SAVE A WEAVER IS MY MANTRA
I’ve been emphasising on handloom clothing since the beginning of my career. Hand-spun textile is not only timeless but also gives life to our weavers. When I started doing fashion shows around the world, my aim was to get international designers to order fabrics from our weavers and it has worked. These days I focus on weaves like Gollabhama, Narayanpet, Mangalgiri and Venkatgiri. But of late, I have realised that I don’t want my weaver to weave just one saree or my client to invest in just one saree. So I use 10 sarees to make one lehenga! It’s win for the weaver and the outfit is unique.
SOUTH INDIAN WEAVES ARE TRENDING, AND HOW
South Indian fashion has developed by leaps and bounds and that makes me elated. I started with Kalamkari and now it’s everywhere. There was a dearth of Ikat, Pochampalli and Putupaka even eight years ago. But we took double Ikat and triple Ikat and lot of Telia Rumal and presented it at international shows and there was a boom like never before. Now, Pochampalli is all over. Our styles are timeless; We only need to take time out to bring it to limelight.
HOW SHADNAGAR’S BREEZY LINEN-KHADI WENT TO HOT ‘N’ HIP DUBAI
At the Dubai Fashion League, the collection I showcased was lapped up. It was all handloom fabrics, but the riot of colours, from mustard, orange and red to deep blue and pomegranate pink left everyone stunned. Our showstopper Sunny Leone sported a striking white ensemble made of linen-khadi blend textile from Shadnagar, Telangana. The breathability of the fabrics goes so well with the weather of Dubai. They loved it!
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