‘Buna’, the brand started by Pallavi Shantam in 2017, gave an innovative fashion direction to traditional Khadi. Called “Time Whisperer”, her collection was heavily rooted in the Japanese Wabi-Sabi concept, which embraces imperfections. Shantam brought it to the forefront in a stylish form with her collection. Time Whisperer was in collaboration with weavers from Burdwan, West Bengal, and it was developed with Jamdaani, woven stripes.
Lars Andersson’s inspiration for his collection has always been several cultures, religions, tribes and global citizens. Creating his knitwear in Nepal and wovens in Kolkata, the Khadi and Matka collection by Lars was called a fabric love story between these two textiles. Offering a line of gender-neutral garments, Lars remained true to his style sensibilities and displayed easy, relaxed silhouettes that would appeal to buyers of all shapes, sizes and sexes.
Jewellyn Alvares, one of the leading bridal wear designers known for his label “Jule Bridal”, turned his gaze for the first time onto men’s wear for his Khadi collection called “Converge”. Working with pure rustic and traditional Khadi with the inherent slub weave, Jewellyn used his women’s wear pattern making skills for men’s wear. There were spirals, asymmetry, layering some controlled volumes that pushed his creativity to explore new avenues.
The Craftmark show by the All India Artisans and Craftworkers Welfare Association (AIACA) was an innovative presentation of Kota Doriya textiles. The sheer quality of the Kota Doriya fabric was a great inspiration for Karishma Shahani Khan for her label ‘Ka-Sha’. Moving away from the conventional ramp display, Karishma turned the venue into a mini museum, with 20 models posing encased in muslin cubicles. The inherent checked pattern of Kota Doriya was explored creatively in the collection.
RmKV Silks and creative designer Sunita Shanker unveiled a magical collection. The bespoke saris have been designed and crafted by taking inspiration from a range of sources such as nature, art and architecture. It was a line of garments that declared 'Tradition with a Twist' and the evolution of the Kanjivaram sari was the focal point.
With ensembles that spoke of womanhood, ‘Vriksh’ by Gunjan Jain presented the “Yogini” collection that offered a range of experimental yet timeless silhouettes. Inspired by the “Chausat Yogini Temple” that has 64 tantric female deities of Odisha, the collection had immaculately woven ethnic saris that were raw and yet edgy in nature. Experimenting extensively with the blouses, each sari was draped in an innovative manner, some even as dhotis. From backless blouses to waist cinchers and belts, the colour story was as interesting as its weaves.
Working with the the famed Ikat of Odisha, the Indigene label used motifs in the garments inspired by different regions around the globe. Believing in zero wastage, Indigene made use of textile leftovers and turned them into patchwork scarves as well as buttons and tassels for the garments.
Working with Musiri, the small village in Tamil Nadu, Naushad Ali was inspired to create a line of garments that would highlight the beauty of the textiles created by talented weavers. Turning the very traditional weaves into western silhouettes, Ali used checks, stripes and Ikats to give a more abstract and colour-blocked effect to patterns.
The label ‘Three’ by Pallavi Dhyani believes in the concept of immortal designs with a timeless quality. The collection visualised with the weavers of Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, was a relaxed line of comfort wear called “Mute”. Using 100 percent handloom cottom, Dhyani gave the weaves an appealing contemporary touch. The very rustic, earthy, hand woven textiles appeared in shades of grey, deep purple and burnt orange.
Eka by Rina Singh displayed a collection which was an intense study of beautiful, raw, textiles and fashion. Eka’s special weaves were shown in the technique called “Kater Makur Kaj” from rural Bengal, which was created by expert weavers in the Nadia District Shantipur, West Bengal. The sheer fabrics were the common factor in most of the creations as they were layered over the more solid checked or colour blocked inners.
Collaborating for the second season with Tencel™ Rajesh Pratap Singh debuted his Indian, ethnic, style collection “Welcome to the Jungle”. The garments had a contemporary twist to the Indian interpretation for Tencel™ weaves and combined it with Indian crafts such as, Chanderi, Banarasi, Jamdaani, hand block prints and more.
