Jharcraft, the global brand of the Jharkhand government, is looking to reposition itself in the high-end market by roping in designers like Rina Dhaka, Shruti Sancheti and Divya and Ambika of Dabiri to reinterpret the finest tussar.
And we must say the resulting collection of tribal abandon and cotton stripes is worth a pick. Be it trench coats, oversize crop tops, layered dhoti trousers, jumpsuit with trail skirt, variety of capes, sleek peplum jackets, long gypsy skirts, flowing kurtas, summer dresses and separates, the stall had buyers from across the country booking their orders. These items will be retailed from the existing 23 outlets of Jharcraft across the country and have enough to offer for the 30 and 40 plus women. A smart move we must say, the monocoloured silks indeed meant as much for the boardroom as after hours. We loved the bags, something that they must have more of. A rather unique innovation was the ivory tussar lehenga in combination with mulberry silk which had many curious buyers. It would be acceptable for both pre and actual wedding rituals. For the conservatives, there’s still the hand-painted saris.
K. Ravikumar, Managing Director, Jharcraft, said, “Jharcraft has a mission of ‘crafting opportunities, changing lives’ in the rural areas based on sericulture, handloom and other allied activities. With the support of FDCI, we hope to provide a platform to artisans and weavers to merchandise their own products through the maximum utilisation of natural resources and manpower of Jharkhand.”
Photos: Pankaj Kumar