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WGSN trends editor Sharon goes deep into the homes of the Bai tribe in Dali, Yunnan, West China to see the original indigo tie dye process. From architecture to textiles making, the Bai tribe know their blue and white like no other! Subscribers look out for our tribal colour report coming up soon.
(via brooklynbombay)
“Loom to Luxury’s” Jitendra Kumar is working in village communities on the outskirts of Varanasi with about 70 weavers closely and on a regular basis - depending on the number of orders. We visited the village of Ayadhopur to film our documentary, however they also work with a large group of weavers in a nearby village called Kotwa.
These are the two major villages producing these stunning textiles for the international fashion market. The master weaver we met with is named Bhaiylal Ji who works closely with Jitendra and NGO Nest to develop the necessary processes and infrastructure to meet the specific international market damands, as well as provide young weavers the opportunity to develop the skills required for a sustainable career in the “new” hand loom sector.
The luxurious hand-loomed textiles created in these village weaving communities; with the help of Nest and Jitendra Kumar have hit the international runways through New York based fashion house, MAIYET. With their second Paris runway show a resounding success, things are looking up for the initiative and the weaving communities involved in this collaborative approach.
See the stunning collection from MAIYET’s recent show in Paris.
We head to Shantipur and Phulia, 90km’s from Kolkata and home to nearly 110 different weaver communities. We arrive in Gobar Char, a weaving village in Shantipur to meet Bimal Bairagi - a marginal handloom weaver.
Bairagi comes from Gobar Char (pronounced gaw-bar chawr) in Shantipur – the ancient handloom hub steeped in the highest traditions of weaving exquisite Bengal handloom sarees. Gobar Char is a low lying settlement at the southernmost tip of Shantipur by the side of River Bhagirathi (Ganga). Life here can be a cesspool of adversity, literally and otherwise. The weavers’ workshops in Gobar Char are built on raised platforms to escape oncoming flood waters during the monsoon. This weaving hub is on the verge of extinction.
Despite the extraordinary skills of the weavers, the average earning of a weaver family is in the range of only Rs. 1500 – Rs. 2000 (US $20 - $30) per month which is not enough to make ends meet. Migration to Kolkata and other cities is taking place for a better living opportunity – working as unskilled labour on building sites or rickshaw drivers. Almost 40% of the 70,000 looms have closed over the past few years. Weaving a full length saree takes almost 8-10 hours involving extreme physical exertion of the hands and feet, in return the Mahajans or traders give the wages of merely Rs. 70-100 (US$1.40 - $2.00) per saree. The Mahajans subsequently sell the sarees to the city merchants making 5 to 10 times profit.
Bimal is currently working on a project for the Shantipur Integrated Handloom Cluster under the aegis of Ministry of Textiles, Government of India to help create a sustainable business for his weaving village. Market demand and an appreciation of the extraordinary craft is what is required to support the 7,000 weavers and their families in this village.
Despite the adversity the weaving families face, the village atmosphere is abuzz with laughter and friendly banter as the children show off in front of the camera, jumping into the river to escape the relentless 48 degree temperature, whilst others peacefully carry out their daily routines.
One of my favorite cities, Kolkata is soulful, with its rich history and friendly people this cultural hub is home to the Bengal Renaissance and continues to spawn generations of poets, writers and film directors. Kolkata’s history is intimately related to the British East India Company, which first arrived in 1690, and to British India, of which Calcutta became the capital in 1772. As a result of the East India Company’s trade sanctions (among other more recent influences), many of the cotton farmers, spinners and weavers are suffering economically. (For more on this see our upcoming blog on Malkha)
Rightly called the city of joy for the exuberance and vitality it exudes. The city of joy is a bustling, colorful metropolis with a treasured history and rich heritage evident in the way the city still retains the glory of its age old culture in it’s Victorian bookstores, clubs like the Tollygunge, the charming trams and the passion in it’s people - be it life, the intensely sweet mishti doi (a sweetened set curd)or the cricket!! (With thanks to Wikitravel, Lonely Planet and Trip Advisor)
Arriving from Banaras, we meet with young contemporary designer Nupur Kanoi who among others including world-renowned Indian fashion designer to the stars, Sabyasachi Mukherjee espouses the virtues of her cultural heritage – the textile artisans in rural India.
Kanoi recently showcased her contemporary, totally wearable collection at fashion week with great success. We arrive in her bustling studio/workshop where there is a hive of activity producing the exquisite garments, hand loomed silk and cotton, organically dyed, printed and adorned with beautiful detail from “french knots” to intricate embroidery and appliqué – all done by artisans across India.
Also based in Kolkata, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, whose collections showcase the beauty and diversity of Indian artisans believes the revival of interest in Bengal handloom is a social phenomenon and is happening because, over the last couple of years, tastes have become more refined. “Bengal saris are simple and sophisticated. I have been using saris from Phulia and Kalna and the luxurious fabric Jamdani in all of my collections.” Says Mukherjee.
Our next stop is Ritu’s boutique & showroom where she pulls out what seems like hundred’s of meters of hand loomed fabrics from across India. From the famed Ikaat to the finely woven Bengali silks in a riot of gorgeous colours. Brimming with passion for her work Ritu takes us on a journey across the vast number of textile regions where she has travelled and created fabrics with village artisans on behalf of some of India’s fashion elite over the past 20 years.
We leave Kolkata for the famous weaving villages in Shantipur & Phulia
Weavers, weaving at break of day,
Why do you weave a garment so gay?
Blue as the wing of a halcyon wild,
We weave the robes of a new born child. Weavers, weaving at fall of night,
Why do you weave a garment so bright?
Like the plumes of a peacock, purple and green, We weave the marriage-veils of a queen.
Weavers, weaving solemn and still,
What do you weave in the moonlight chill?
White as a feather and white as a cloud, We weave a dead man’s funeral shroud.
Sarojini Naidu
Artisans of Fashion explores the rich textile heritage of Banaras, also known as Varanasi. Resting on the banks of the sacred Ganges River, Varanasi is regarded as a holy city by Hindus Buddhist and Jains alike. More than one million pilgrims visit the city every year, at least 3000 years old, Varanasi is also one of the world’s oldest living cities.
Varanasi has long attracted pilgrims, traders, conquerors and craftsmen and is famous for the meticulously handcrafted Banaras Sari - the ultimate sign of luxury.
The sari weaving tradition is almost 800 years old and this exact weaving technique is still carried out today having been handed down through the generations.
Over the past decade, the situation for weavers in Varanasi has declined. Cheap imports and industrialisation is now threatening the Varanasi weaver’s craft, driving the artisans to alternative employment and a life-sentence of extreme poverty.
Our journey begins in this timeless city, where we meet with weaver’s, master weavers and traders, an NGO working in partnership with a social enterprise and a contemporary textile designer working with the highly skilled artisan’s techniques to create stunning hand loomed textiles for the high end local and international luxury market.
We discover the complexities and challenges that arise through the integration of these ancient techniques within the constantly varying pulse of global fashion; and also the extraordinary possibilities of such a collaboration given an environment of cultural understanding and mutual respect. Access to market and production management systems are the two key areas of focus for Loom to Luxury, a social enterprise established to provide the village weavers with the opportunity to keep their craft alive and build sustainable businesses. Loom to Luxury in partnership with NGO Nest is providing suitable working environments along with the resources and facilities for new product development, training programs for the next generation of weavers and paid work opportunities for women. Already working closely with NY based fashion label Maiyet, this exciting initiative has a positive and viable future with significant mutual benefits.
