Khaadi: Wear India on your sleeve

High street fashion brands are tapping the country's increasingly fashion-savvy consumers, but the nation's traditional textile industry is waking up to "redefine" fashion for the new generation.

India has, for centuries, been known for its fine weaves. Under the British Raj, yarn and textiles from India proved to be so popular in Europe that they were perceived as a threat to domestic textile businesses and mills.
As a result, the British Parliament passed the Calico Acts in 1721, banning the import of textiles into England. Yet, Indian fashion in recent years has preferred to concentrate on embellishment and embroidery and forget its rich heritage of cloth-making. If you examine Indian fashion over the last ten years, the focus has been more on ornamentation than fabrication, even though cloth forms the very basis of the industry.
It is only in the last couple of years, as Indian fashion matured, that textiles have once again become the talking point of the trade.Last year, at around this time, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) hosted a fash-ion show in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, the state of khadi or hand-spun cloth, called 'Huts to High Street' that showcased the wonders of this textile.
This was the fabric Mahatma Gandhi had turned into a symbol of freedom, as a sign of resistance against British rule. The designers selected for the show were Anamika Khanna, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Rohit Bal, and walking on the ramp was fashion's favourite leading lady of film, Sonam Kapoor, as well as the eternal heartthrob of celluloid, Salman Khan.
Younger designers such as Eka, Pero and 11.11 by CellDSGN have championed for khadi in the past, but it was the FDCI show that elevated it and gave it a new status - that of being high fashion's fabric of choice.
This year, Manish Malhotra continued the trend with his 'Regal Threads' fashion show that was held mid-month, mixing Banaras threads with Gujarat's famed tie-dye technique of bandhani. Said the designer, "The new year brings with it a new, exciting chapter for my label. This is the first time I have worked with Banarasi weaves and the creative process of putting together the collection has been im-mensely gratifying.
'Regal Threads' is my tribute to our weavers and craftsmen, who have up-held crafts and traditions that are centuries old. It is a celebration of couture, heritage, colours and the glamour of India in our style." Malho-tra proved that weaves can be young, glamorous and a fashionable ode to the #MakeinIndia campaign that Narendra Modi's government is so proud of.
It is interesting how the weaves of Banaras and the cloth-making techniques of Gujarat have become Indian fashion's new focus. Just a couple of months ago, the FDCI staged a show called 'Threads of Banaras' in association with the Ministry of Textile during the recent India-Africa Forum Summit. In the audience were at least twenty African First Ladies.
All pieces at this show were sourced from Ekaya, the house of Banarasi fabrics and saris headquartered in Varanasi, with stores in Delhi and Ahmedabad. For the ministry, the show was an extension of the 'Make In India' campaign; for fashion, it was an extension of the 'Born in Banaras' finale show at the Spring/ Summer edition of Amazon India Fashion Week (AIFW) held in Delhi last October. With 16 designers invited to be a part of the finale, it was all about taking the traditional and giving it a contemporary context - which is really what good fashion is all about.There is more to this trend than style - politics and economics have had their role too.
Of course, Banaras does produce some of India's most beautiful weaves, and Gujarat is the traditional hub of textile, but one cannot help but wonder whether fashion's newfound interest in the city has a political agenda as well. Let us not forget that Banaras and Gujarat also have prime minster Modi in common: one is his home and the state he was former Chief Minister of, and the other is the seat from which he was elected.
For a while now, fashion has been trying to woo the government - something the apex body of the industry, the FDCI, has always desired. "Of course, there is a political un-dercurrent to the Banaras trend," admits the President of the FDCI, Sunil Sethi.
He quickly adds, "But it is a two-way partnership, as the Development Commission for Handloom has given the industry access to these craft clusters, something that would've been hard for individual designers to do."Anita Dongre is one of India's most successful commercial designers and one of her brands, Grassroots, is all about slow fashion and handcrafted traditions.
Says Dongre, "When industry leaders partner and collaborate with the weavers, we will appeal to the fashion conscious, both in India and globally, and help revive this glorious tradition. This will give our weavers the much-needed pride and dignity they deserve, ensure fair wages and create better livelihoods for them, thus ensuring the legacy continues with the younger generation wanting to follow in their forefathers' footsteps."
We all know that politics and economics work hand-in-glove; with every international high street brand now having a foothold in In-dia, the market has become crowded. In July, Spanish fashion brand Zara became the first apparel brand in India to cross the $100-million sales mark, five years after it first opened shop in the country. Hot on the heels of this news came the launch of Zara's main competi-tor in the country.
Swedish fast fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) opened its first store on Gandhi Jayanti, October 2, last year and plans to open 50 more across the country in due time. With first day sales ringing in at over US$ 250,000, India seems happy to give inter-national high street fashion a warm welcome.
"Indian designers have realised that what sets them apart is their 'Indian-ness'. They cannot compete with Zara, so they need to redefine India for a new generation," explains Sethi.Now we need to see high fashion sentiments come to the high streets of India. Here, a gap still exists. The textile industry is the second-largest employment generator in India.
Fashion and politics working together, therefore, is a partnership that is needed. Modi's 'Make in India' initiative has reminded the sector that Indian craftsmen need to be celebrated on the catwalks.
As Sethi says, "I would say this: Indian high fashion has understood the power of being Indian." As Republic Day approach-es, remember that wearing those weaves is a fashion, political and economic statement that truly celebrates all that is Indian.
sujata@khaleejtimes.com  

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