ndia is witnessing a ‘new’ crafts movement, which is informed by an art-
meets-technology current. From industrial fabrics to recycled yarns, from
inding fresh value in discarded household items, to tapping the world of
an artist caught at the crossroads of a city (charting the journey of migration),
craft is traversing an interesting paradigm—from the mundane to the supra.
Materials, mediums, and meanings are gaining a vigorous momentum...
and yet we must refrain from terming it modernisation of the textile craft.
‘New’ is not the historical modern here, it is to do with a change in approach.
It takes revivalism to the next level, where the catchword of sustainability gets a new
lease of life with functionality. As consumers and patrons, these are surely exciting times
for us—irst, it infuses art into our everyday wardrobe, and second, it liberalises crafts
from the clusters of their origin, to communicate with us in the immediate language
of our urbane existence. For brides, it means the arrival of a new techno-dazzled as well
as functional handloom age, one in which, the new crop of designers are etching their
individualistic impressions on the canvas—eclectic, sometimes reined, at times raw, and
always artistic—in everyday wardrobe as well as bridal trousseau pieces. Get ready to
sport unconventional edge at themed ceremonies, pre-wedding events, and wedding
parties. Welcome the reign of the craft moderns or creative moderns.
Sanjay Garg, founder, Raw Mango, ofers an insight into this paradigm shift. He says,
“We are a living culture. To understand the current state of textile art is to irst understand
that it is not an evolution that we are talking
about but a simpliication of design and creating
visual awareness. We had reached a time when
a lot of craft products were being produced,
but there was no demand in the market. Then
designers started breaking that cycle by moving
away from the format of visual clutter.” The
handloom fabric was always there but the way
it is being treated is diferent now, to alter the
notion that it could only have value in a certain
preset environment. Locating this shift in a
post-colonial context, Garg goes on to tell that
the whole stress is now on functional design
and cleaner and sophisticated aesthetics. For
instance, colours that don’t break, patterns that
weave well, and elements that look blended.
Raw Mango has been doing some inspirational
work in this direction by taking a fresher look at hand-woven textiles.Their story is as
much contemporary as rooted.
The small-city-to-big-city leap is also another facet that the artist-designer is willing
to explore in this narrative of re-looking textiles. For Gaurav Jai Gupta, founder, Akaaro
by Gaurav Jai Gupta, it is also not about trying to be modern, but about living in it,
because “the traditional is warped in time”, and one has to modify it to suit the present
times. Akaaro began with an interest in fusion as a creative discipline, and responding
to the surrounding environment through work. The base materials that they work with
are cotton, silk, jacquard, Merino wool, and go on to include materials like stainless
steel. The design process is entirely controlled by studio weaving, while visual references
and inspiration range from cinema and architecture, to city graphics, urban landscapes,
and also personal journeys. Crafts straight out of textile clusters go through a process
of simpliication and are given a character of wearability. And Gupta is deeply inluenced
by the works of Issey Miyake (noted for his technology-driven design), and Rajesh
Pratap Singh (noted for his minimalistic style). Simple, basic, and beautiful is how it can
be described. Gupta further stresses that India is a country of extremes and we all inhabit
duality to some extent. As an artist, he lets his inner conlicts channel into his work.For brides, it
means the arrival
of a new techno-
dazzled as well as
functional
handloom age,
along with
unconventional
aesthetics.
IMAGE COURTESY: SANJAY GARG; PÉRO BY ANEETH ARORA. OPPOSITE PAGE: AKAARO BY GAURAV JAI GUPTA; SANJAY GARG.
On left and
right: Sanjay
Garg, AIFW
SS ’16On top, left, and
right: péro by
Aneeth Arora,
LFW SR ’16