Mission Ahmedabad

Tag : Kashmir Fabrics

Amidst the celeb designers, who regularly hit the ramps of fashionweeks, Romani Jaitley is the odd one out. She wants to create‘Indian’ clothes that would make heads turn. With herheart fixed on the magic of warp and weft, this textile designerfrom Ahmedabad is now on a mission. “To help youngstersunderstand that, it’s time for old and the beautiful and thatone can look fashionable even with Indian creations,” shesays. The designer was in the city to hold sessions with thestudents of Lakhotia Institute of Art and Design to bring anawareness on conservation of our timeless fabrics and crafts andcreate a new fashion wave.
“Change is inevitable and necessary for fashion too. But, oneneed not chuck tradition for the sake of modernity. It is possibleto blend young ideas with timeless fabrics and create a newdesign,” she says and adds, “Kalamkari has pictures ofgods and goddesses printed on it. These images could be changed tosuit the modern tastes and the end result would be nothing lessthan glamorous.”
Romani’s love for textiles has also resulted in a book titled Tana Bana, where she has documented 20 handcrafted and hand-woven textiles ofIndia. From Jamewar of Kashmir and block printing of Gujarat toLuckwnawi chikan and our own ikkat get a special mention here.“The thriving communities of craftsmen vary from state tostate. What is interesting to note is that the spinning mills haveclosed down but crafts have survived despite the onslaught oftechnology,” she says.
Documenting for the book has been an exhaustive affair. Readingbooks and travelling extensively not only helped her in theresearch but left her with some fascinating experiences. “InSambalpur, for example, ikkat has been developed as a functionalfabric. Villagers weave ikkat and wear it too. Even in colleges andgovernment offices, ikkat wearing is compulsory at least on oneday. This is a new way of patronising the craft and helping it toflourish. Even Andhra Pradesh can make ikkat compulsory in schoolsand colleges and give the yarn a new lease of life,” shesays.
Among the historical weaves which has cast a spell on her is thefabric of the 16th century. Says she, “The local craftsman,who have never gone abroad used to create printed and paintedfabrics for the European market, which were a big hit. Fashion isall about making the tradition contemporary.”