A Unique Mosaic

The Indian Textile Day at LFW saw designers delve into the diverse textile heritage of the country.

At a time when the screening of fashion videos starring film actors and models has become commonplace in the industry,airing short films capturing weavers hunched over handlooms in Indias rural pockets may seem like an unlikely way to begin a fashion show. Yet,at the Winter/ Festive 2013 edition of Lakme Fashion Week (LFW),weavers and artisans,from different parts of the country,were put under the spotlight even as a posse of designers exhibited their textile-oriented design stories as part of Indian Textile Day,held on August 26.

Soumitra Mondal and Krishna Mehta worked with textiles from the East and the Northeast respectively. Mondals show had Bengals Jamdani weaves take centre stage. I have been working with Jamdani all along, said Mondal. Kurtas,slim pants,lehengas and long-sleeved cholis teamed with sheer saris wore delicate hand-embroidery with colours such as grey,black,indigo blue,yellow and maroon making the gold work stand out. Fortunately,he didnt get carried away with heavy embroidery and placed it on sleeves and hemlines.

Mehtas collection,on the other hand,was the result of a new collaboration,this time with the Manipur Department of Commerce & Industries. While her menswear,included kurtas and sherwanis with pajamas/ churidars,the womenswear had saris with waistcoats,crop tops with sharara pants and lehengas. Her line prominently featured intricately embroidered mulberry silks,translucent stripes and woven tweeds as also the shibori and tie-and-dye techniques that are known to be her favourite. The collection capitalised on the rich Manipuri colour palette from red,fuchsia and orange,to purple and

cobalt blue.

Similar jewel tones were part of Hyderabad-based designer Gaurangs collection called Stridhan that highlighted the beauty of the Patan Patola from Gujarat. Patans famed double ikat sari takes more than a year to weave,but having started work on this collection in 2012,Gaurang managed a coup of sorts as he showed an elaborate line that also used Parsi gara embroidery,Kanjeevaram borders and gota work. The silhouettes again were Indian with anarkalis,lehengas,shararas and ghagras forming the womenswear segment while his debut menswear line had Patan Patola sherwanis,dhotis,kurtas and pagdis. Nagpur-based Shruti Sancheti too focused on Western India even as she proved that Maharashtras textile heritage doesnt begin and end with the Paithani. Choosing to craft loose silhouettes such as palazzos,tunics,lehengas and saris,Sancheti tapped into the states rustic weaves such as Shahpuri,Rasta,Narli,Ruiphool,Karvatkati and Jyot.

However,what was really eye-catching was Rahul Mishras first full-fledged Indian collection of lightweight handloom couture,where he worked magic with Madhya Pradeshs Chanderi and Maheshwari silks. I dont believe in limiting my work with a particular fabric to just one season; ones association with the weavers transcends such timelines. In keeping with this philosophy,I have been using Chanderis and Maheshwaris for close to six years now. But this time,I lay emphasis on voluminous Indian garments and liberal use of colour blocking, says Mishra,who is otherwise known for his whites.

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