The craft of fashion

Last week, India celebrated National Handloom Day. Next week, as the Lakme Fashion Week starts, one day will be dedicated to sustainable fashion. The emphasis, this season, is on Indian textiles, such as khadi, aka fabric of freedom - kota, a weaving technique hailing from Rajasthan and an Indian take on tencel, a globally used sustainable fabric made from wood cellulose. India's rich tradition of textiles has been written about many times. In fact, it is woven into India's history - be it the emphasis on khadi by Mahatma Gandhi or Narendra Modi's recent 'Make in India' campaign. The handloom sector is rural India's second largest employer; in fact, India's hand-woven fabric is considered to be world-class. However, there is a big reason why handloom should now be the fabric of choice: it is environment-friendly, and conscious consumption is the way forward.
I usually buy clothes I know I will wear multiple times. No fast fashion for me! And I never throw them away, I always give them to someone who will appreciate pre-loved clothes. Being an Indian living in Dubai, I try and wear clothes that are made from handloom textiles of India, but have a contemporary, international look. This is also a way of encouraging my peers to look at our textiles. A reason why when I saw labels such as Abraham & Thakore, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Nachiket Barve and Sunita Shanker on the list of designers showing at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive edition that starts on August 22, I was thrilled. Here are designers who present Indian crafts in a modern way. These clothes belong as much on the roads of Düsseldorf or Dubai as they do on the streets of New Delhi. However, the one label I was surprised to see as being part of the line-up was Good Earth. It marks the brand's fashion week debut.
Set up 22 years ago by Delhi's Anita Lal, Good Earth has become one of India's most prominent lifestyle stores. While home décor was at the heart of Good Earth (its colourful 'Made In India' crockery that used traditional motifs was my first buy), it introduced fashion over a decade ago and that has become the brand's mainstay ever since. You will find Sanjay Garg's Raw Mango, Ruchika Sachdeva's Bodice and other labels that share the Good Earth philosophy in the store. Today, the brand is helmed by Anita's daughter Simran, who is the CEO. Their in-house label has been growing slowly and steadily, and that's why I am quite excited to see Good Earth's The Miniaturist, a set of 27 pieces that use gota - a ribbon-like appliqué that uses metallic threads - on sustainable fabrics, taking to the ramp. The collection has been designed by Namrata Rathi, senior designer of Good Earth's in-house label Good Earth Sustain, and is available on special order only. I have a feeling at least one of these artisanal pieces will make its way to my festive wardrobe soon. After all, as the LFW hashtag reads #craftiscool!
sujata@khaleejtimes.com