Bring back the old weaves

Sangeetha Devi Dundoo

JULY 27, 2017 15:15 IST

A Kanchi sari with korvai border weaving; motifs inspired by 16th century temple art.
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Hyderabad designers discuss reviving vintage weaves and motifs

— from ‘korvai’ Kanjivarams to ‘Bangadi-Mor’ of Paithanis
Leading up to National Handloom Day on August 7, which will be marked
by an event Woven 2017 – A Walk of Fashion, actor Samantha Ruth
Prabhu started a campaign on social media asking women to post
photographs giving a contemporary twist to their mom’s saris. Samantha
sported her mother’s green sari with an edgy white shirt-blouse with bell
sleeves. Enthusiastic young women followed suit.
Designers who’ve been consistently working with handlooms have an
obsession with old saris; an obsession driven by passion for vintage
weaves. Reviving forgotten motifs may bring in exclusivity and fetch
higher price for a sari but there’s also a story of craftsmanship. Designers
disclose how they often ask, even plead with their clients to source
heirloom saris and try to recreate them.

‘Korvai’ to ‘Bangadi-Mor’
Gaurang Shah
Gaurang Shah recently sourced a 70-year-old Kanjivaram sari from a
client. The sari with korvai weave, large pallu and small borders is an
inspiration for a new creation. He also purchased Banarasi cotton and silk
saris from an antique seller. “These saris were priced around ₹500 to
₹1000 and I bought saris worth ₹4 lakh to study the jamdani work on
cottons and silks,” he says.
Analysing heritage weaves to understand the technique is the first step.
Often, weavers hesitate to take up labour-intensive processes as
experiments unless assured of more orders and wages. “We’re now
recreating the Bangadi-Mor (bangle-peacock) motif of Paithani. A weaver
told me it will take three years and I told her we’ll meet the cost,” says
Gaurang. This Bangadi-Mor pattern will have two rows of 1-1/2 inch
overlapping bangle patterns between which peacock motifs of 3/4 inch
will be sandwiched.
Vintage weaves also offer a learning ground. Gaurang discusses his visit to
Calico Museum of Textiles, Ahmedabad, where he observed Mughal
motifs on khadi Paithanis. “A few floral motifs appeared circular from a
distance. We stepped closer and noticed that the petals were woven in
squares. This helped us understand how to draw those patterns and give
them to weavers,” he says.
Kanjivaram revival is also part of Gaurang’s repertoire. Traditional Kanchi
saris were known for animal motifs inspired by patterns on the walls of
Madurai Meenakshi and other temples.

‘Oosi’ to ‘Gollabhama’
Shravan Kumar Ramaswamy
A model poses in a Shravan Kumar creation, a revival of Banaras from 1920s.

Shravan, who will be showcasing his collection at Woven 2017 next week,
is excited about working with weavers in Yadadri region for a line of
Gollabhama saris. These saris are distinguished by their motifs of cowherd
women carrying milk pots.
“These designs were earlier done in white, off white, black and red; in
recent years weavers began doing this in a range of pastels,” says Shravan,
who also wants to recreate Pochampally saris of 60s and 70s, known for
their bright shades and tissue borders.
“In 20 to 30 years, more people will wake up to vintage techniques. We’re
embracing an organic way of life and returning to our roots. Revival of
traditional textiles is part of the process,” he says.
Liaising with weavers across India, Shravan prides in collections of
chequered Kotas and Kanchis with korvai weaving
and oosivanam (needle-shaped motif). “We’re also trying the older way of
washing silk yarn using reeta and other ingredients which soften the yarn.
Old Kanchi saris were soft. In later years, people added more gum and
starch, making the saris heavy and stiff,” he says.

Kalamkari meets Kanchi

Sashikant Naidu

“I’ve been buying more than selling,” says Sashikant Naidu, who’s been
accumulating old saris sourced from his clients or from antique sellers
when he travels. While he’s fascinated with vintage Kanchi and Banaras,
he observes it’s tough to recreate them impeccably.
 “It might look good, but someone with a keen eye will know it doesn’t
always match up to the original. I don’t know if it has to do with the yarn
or zari,” he says.
A few players in the retail sector have attempted fusion of Kalamkari and
Kanchi but Sashikanth explains it’s tricky: “The sari has to look seamless;
you don’t want it to look as though the Kanchi border and pallu have been
attached to a Kalamkari body. It’s not easy to get a stunning Kanchi sari
with Kalamkari work, which involves several washes and boiling.”
His new collection explores the Kanchi-Kalamkari fusion. Sashikant is
also working on a Banaras collection in khadi for which he has sourced
khadi yarn from Andhra Pradesh.
“We’ll be using several old motifs — animal motifs of yore and a few
small, wave-like patterns,” he says.

Did you know?

* Vriksh Designs, spearheaded by Gunjan Jain, is reviving forgotten
weaves of Odisha such as Bomkai, Dhalapathar, Dongria and Siminoi
among others.
* Bangalore-based The Registry of Sarees revived the Patteda Anchu saris
of Karnataka apart from heritage Kanchi techniques.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/ktaka-
ap-weavers-make-comeback-through-
digital/articleshow/60786083.cms
Linen saris are making a statement, emerging as an alternative to
six yards of silk and cotton. A closer look at how some players work
with the unique yarn

The linen movement

A few days ago, Nandita Das was a picture of grace at Cannes Film
Festival where she was representing her forthcoming film Manto, sporting
an elegant peach-zari linen sari by label Anavila.
Lustrous linen saris are enjoying their pride of place, trickling into popular
consciousness. When you think of saris, there can be more options than
silks and cottons.
A forerunner of the linen sari movement is Anavila Misra, who founded
her label in 2011, with the experience of having worked with craft clusters
across the country. “A number of designers were working on silks and
cottons and I was looking to carve an identity. I myself wasn’t too
comfortable wearing silks and wanted something new,” says Anavila.
She mulled over the choices women had if they wanted to dress for an
occasion and didn’t want to restrict themselves to silk. Linen seemed like
an option. Until then, linen was mostly relegated to formal shirts and
trousers.
She and her team spent six to seven months experimenting with the yarn
and the weave to arrive at saris that had sheen, a good fall and didn’t feel
heavy. “We use finer yarns, counts ranging from 80s to 100s and the loom
is set such that the weaving is a little loose. A tight weave will make the
sari heavy and it will get crumpled easily,” Anavila explains.
Most creations from her studio are solely in linen, allowing occasional
blends with silks, wool or cotton.
Anavila works with 150 weavers in West Bengal and is now working on
saris that will blend linen and kala cotton from Gujarat. A winter
collection in deeper colours, with a little blend of wool is also on cards.
From plain linen saris to those with block prints, jamdani and batik… they
have worked with many options. Linen, Anavila observes, takes to natural
dyes with ease. Saris from her label have been sported by celebrities
including Sonam Kapoor, Vidya Balan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu and
each time, stand out for their elegance.

Weft and warp

Sarita Ganeriwala, creative head and founder of Kolkata-based Karomi, is

thoroughly enjoying working with linen yarn. A fine arts graduate from
Baroda who then pursued textile design and development from National
Institute of Fashion Design, Delhi, she is fascinated by the possibilities at
the loom.
Linen saris from Karomi have linen as prime yarn and 30 to 40% khadi,
cotton or silk. “Linen is breathable but has the tendency to be stiff. When
linen is combined with hand-spun cotton like khadi, the garment is softer.
Similarly, using silk with linen gives the sheen to the sari,” she says.
Karomi has tried jamdani on linen and the motifs — small, medium or
heavy — are chosen according to the yarn and the end product. “A lot of
research and development goes into weaving these saris — do we need
basket weave or plain weave? Is it a warp or weft-based sari? Which yarn
do we use? We think on all these lines. So far we have developed warp-
based saris with linen yarn for the warp. We are toying with using linen for
the weft,” Sarita explains.
Initially, silk was the primary yarn for weavers at Karomi. Linen is a
relatively recent addition. “Linen is breathable and has a distinct texture
which makes it exciting both for weavers and buyers,” says Sarita.

Tradition with a twist

With linen saris beginning to woo the spotlight, traditional sari houses
have also begun exploring that space. Madhavi Rongola of Bangalore-
based House of Taamara notes with cheer that linen saris from her store
have many takers in Hyderabad,thanks to online retail. She’s forthright
when she admits, “Saris in linen is a small portion of what we do,
alongside traditional handcrafted silks and cottons. Linen is wearable
throughout the year in Indian conditions and it’s encouraging when buyers
tell us that they receive a number of compliments when they sport our
linen saris.”
 House of Taamara gives saris a contemporary edge with the choice of
colours and motifs. Linen saris here are blended with silk, cotton or khadi.
Buyer perception, Madhavi observes, has been gradually opening up to
experiments. “We help them mix and match saris with blouses and
accessories like vintage silver jewellery. Someone who’s eager to try
something new but isn’t sure of how to go about it will be willing if she
has help on creating a look,” says Madhavi.

Selling sarees to modern India, the

Titan way
Presenting brand Taneira’s story so far and its collaboration with Famous
InnovationsPriyanka Nair | ETBrandEquity | Updated: December 11, 2017, 08:36 IST

inShare

If you are someone who grew up on Doordarshan, you probably remember

the classic ads by Garden, the then popular saree brand. And, for those of you
who haven’t, today’s your lucky day.

At the time, a bunch of saree companies and shops added the glam quotient
to their marketing. It was an era when the country’s hottest ad shops were
busy experimenting with previously untouched categories. But over time,
newer categories grabbed the attention of the Indian consumers. And so, a
category that has existed for over 5000 years, gradually bowed out of mainline
advertising. There’s still a lot of advertising — but most of it is strictly
local. Saree culture is of course still going strong with even a bunch of e-
stores that have mushroomed around it. Earlier this year, a storied brand —
not one that you’d readily associate with sarees — made a foray into this
space.
Brand Solutions

What it takes to strengthen brand credibility

What it takes to build the reputation of a brand

Building a ready-to-learn brand

In February this year, Titan jumped aboard the saree bandwagon and
launched a brand called Taneira. The company aims to keep the authenticity
factor alive in this largely unorganised category.
Shyamala Ramanan, business head, Taneira, Titan Company

Shyamala Ramanan, business head, Taneira, Titan Company, does not

believe building Taneria as a brand and a category creation exercise for
branded sarees are mutually exclusive.

“With Taneira, our attempt is two-fold: building brand Taneira is, of course,
important, we are also hoping to create fresh excitement in the category itself.
The saree today means different things to different women. We believe the
saree is a wonderful expression of identity and we celebrate women who wear
the saree simply out of love, joy and pride - not compulsion, and look their
natural, beautiful best in it.”

“Also, the weaver story has been boxed into a single narrative for far too long.
We want to change that. India’s heritage of textiles and crafts is so rich, it
demands to be glorified. And along the way, we hope we are able to make a
dent in the universe of Indian handicrafts with this brand,” she says.

In the pilot phase, the objective is quite simply learning. Ramanan elaborates,
“The focus is to gain a solid understanding of local preferences, the
customer’s response to our value proposition, develop a sustainable supply
chain and business model in this category.”

There aren’t specific numbers available for the saree industry in India. In
Ramanan’s opinion, as long as India continues to be the celebrations capital
of the world, be it weddings, festivals or other occasions, the market will
continue to grow in double digits.

“One of the key facts is that the saree is innately linked to celebrations, even
for the occasional or irregular saree wearer. A steady part of many women’s
wardrobes for years, it has recently received a very public and social media-
driven buzz.”

Holding the “famous” flag

Lowe Lintas and O&M have been worked very closely with the Titan group on
various brands, over the years. Interestingly, for Taneira, Ramanan
chose Famous Innovations. Titan’s introduction to Famous was through
Titan’s Swiss watch brand Xylys. Ramanan mentioned there is a sense of
comfort and confidence that’s has developed between these newer brands
and the agency.
G V Krishnan, CEO, Famous Innovations – South, said, that as his team
started to understand the category, they realised the saree is fashion,
tradition, history and innovation all wrapped in one. And. here was an
opportunity to portray it in a whole new light, to create something different and
disruptive.

Having said that, branding in this space is a tough nut to crack. Krishnan says,
“I think the most exciting and challenging part of our journey was the co-
creation of the brand. Sarees don’t typically fall into the apparel or fashion,
although that may seem like the most logical deduction.”
“The other interesting aspect has been to develop communications where
every aspect is deeply rooted in the values of the brand – authenticity,
inclusiveness, warmth,” he added.
Taneira's ad campaign

Taneira had an advertising splash during its launch, after which it reappeared
through the festive season. The campaign is still running in print and outdoor,
but for now, Titan and Famous are busy thinking of different ways to get
modern women pick a saree or two.