Restoring the rustle

Since 2001,the two have been developing various ways to restore old saris—by transferring antique border onto a new sari,strengthening its base fabric and restoring the old look by adding beads,mirrors and crystals.

Nidhi and Vaishali have spent as much time at the Crafts museum at Pragati Maidan as in the studio. From Baluchari saris to traditional Manipuri hand woven saris,the forgotten arts hold them in a spell. “The original craftsmanship is hard to find these days. Tailors just don’t do this stuff anymore. Often,I replicate designs from books available at the Crafts museum so that the younger generation is aware of the work of art,” says Nidhi Jain,34,who trained as a fashion designer from NIFT. In 1999,Nidhi and Vaishali,got together and opened their flagship store at Rajouri Garden. “We live in the same neighbourhood and met through our spouses. Soon,we found we share the same passion for design,” laughs Nidhi.

The desire to preserve antique saris was always there. “I saw my mother’s wedding sari which was in a terrible condition. The fabric was about to disintegrate and the length of the sari was short. One day,I cut the border,which had Dabiri technique,sat with the tailor and told him to patch onto a fresh fabric. The old motifs were lifted from the old sari and embroidered onto the new fabric,” says Vaishali,36,who picked up the art of stitching and drawing by assisting her father in the garment export business.

While a Bandhini sari from Kutch is lifted with an antique bakhra border (it is embroidery with pure silver from Lucknow),a cream cotton Chanderi sari was enlivened with a border,cut from a pallu. “Often the colours have softened with time,and it’s hard to replicate the original stitches,” says Vaishali. So far,they have converted old shawls into stoles,lengthening it by patching borders and have made bed covers and cushions with antique saris. One of the clients also requested them to restore an old dupatta,part of her wedding trousseau which she wished to wear for her daughter’s wedding. “So we cut the border and wove it into a new sari,” says Vaishali.

The two,who source antique borders from Dariba Kalan in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk and from Jaipur,Hyderabad and Varanasi,have 35 artisans at their workshop in Rajouri Garden.

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