From the country’s apex fashion body giving prominence to hand-woven fabrics to the Ministry of Textiles collaborating with high flying fashion brands and designers promoting indigenous textiles, the fashion week inaugural was all about handlooms. By Unnati Joshi and A Jain
Understated trendsetter
The ramp was a garden and the models flocked in bright trousers with brighter jackets, dramatic draped gowns and asymmetrical kurtas at The Handloom Show. The palette ranged from orange and yellow to white and black and the classic blue.
The show by The Handloom School acknowledged the anonymous weavers. Thirteen illustrated designers — Akaaro, Antar-Agni, Eka, Good Earth, Neeru Kumar, Nicobar, Pero, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Raw Mango, Rohit Bal, Suket Dhir, Urvashi Kaur and 11:11 Eleven Eleven — highlighted the versatility of weaves by using them to create modern designed ensembles in their signature styles. They also shared the stage and honour with their teams of weavers and craftsmen. Post-show, Sally Holkar from The Handloom School said, “Weavers need and deserve a platform where their skills and rich heritage can be showcased and where they can learn about their markets. This show is a great opportunity for The Handloom School graduates and its future students to synergise the potential of traditional and modern textile design. The event will also link these young artisans directly with the industry. It took eight months to do this 15-minute collection.”
Designer Rina Singh from Eka told us, “Our collection is an example of reinterpretation of our fabrics. A single outfit has different designer garments layered on top of each other. Yet the ensemble looks like a monolithic whole. So the show was all about their thought process and what kind of clothes they put together.”
The story of earth and sky
With the theme of the earth and sky, Indonesian designer Novita Yunus introduced her brand Batik Chic at Amazon’s Fashion Week. The earthy palette found expression in varieties of kaftans, palazzos, traditional embroidered kebayas, knotted skirts, harem pants, parachute pants and asymmetric overalls. The earth element comprised a combination of ochre, dark chocolate, light brown, olive green and dark brown while the sky was represented in all things silver.
The accessories were the highlight of the show and consisted clutches, fringed tote bags, Surya Majajpahit era-inspired gold plated necklaces, brooches and buckled belts. Kalimantan rattan sandals completed the look.
“The concept was bumi langit, which means, the sky and the earth. The sky symbolised the sun, the stars and the earth symbolised the eco prints that I have used. We have used three different fabrics, eco prints, batik remekan and an authentic method from West Java. These are beyond seasons; you can wear these in autumn winter with a jacket or a coat and it is perfect for summers,” shared Novita.
Suit up
From cropped choga jacket to angarkha shirt Abraham and Thakore’s collection Back to work was about simple separates in pure cotton providing practical alternatives to the everyday workday needs of the urban Indian woman looking for fashion solutions that draw on tradition. The colour palette comprised ivory, madder, indigo and black.
Photos: Pankaj Kumar