In a small studio near Mehrauli in Delhi, 31-year-old Rohtak-born and London-trained designer Gaurav Jai Gupta sits purposefully near the loom, the centrepiece of his workspace. Unless you interrupt, Jai Gupta’s gentle soliloquy on handlooms that range from fine-count Khadi in Phulia, West Bengal, to ordinary cotton, goes on like a song of devotion.

The same persistence has helped Jai Gupta craft his brand Akaaro since his 2010 debut at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in Delhi. He describes his work as “craft couture"—his men’s shirts and saris involve dexterous weaving techniques, including three-yarn fabrics (made using steel yarn, cotton and silk). But in simpler terms, he is a cotton picker—an urbane designer working to scale up India’s most ordinary fabrics, Khadi and plain cotton. “Cotton is the most important yarn for me because of the human skill that goes into weaving it. Even when I weave with the finest yarn, the fabric tones itself down, turning into an equalizer that anyone can wear," he says.

View Full Image Delhi-based designers Shani Himanshu (in blue shawl) and Mia Morikawa of 11:11 Celldsgn. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

In an industrial neighbourhood in Delhi’s Okhla area, 33-year-old Shani Himanshu stands outside an old iron gate in Khadi denim trousers in brick red and a Khadi jacket dyed in natural indigo. Inside his workshop-cum-studio, an array of modern, stylistic separates—slim and loose trousers, tops, jackets and tunics, shirts for men and women, some with Bandhini and block printing but all created from mill-made cotton, Khadi and Kala Cotton (see below)—hang on stands. With quiet assurance, Himanshu says everything his label 11:11 Celldsgn creates is with “consciousness".

Next week, his first line of Khadi Denim, with the fabric created in collaboration with Arvind Mills Ltd, Ahmedabad, one of the largest denim manufacturers in the world, will be in in his store Grey Garden in Hauz Khas Village in the Capital. Khadi denim is made from authentic Khadi sourced from Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan—Khadi yarn is woven with the thickness of the denim twill. It is “100% handmade," says Himanshu. The fabric is hand-spun and handwoven and the final garment is hand-stitched by a village artisan.

View Full Image Paromita Banerjee in her Kolkata studio. Photo: Indranil Bhoumik/Mint

As you tread the road less taken in glitzy Indian fashion, you meet a bunch of designers committed to turning cotton garments into a fashion statement. They belong to the growing handloom brigade who emphasize their work with pure cotton even though they may work with other local fabrics, like silk and wool.

A molecular breakdown of the term “cotton" may be pertinent here. For this story, we only sought some among those designers who work with hand-spun, handwoven Khadi, mill-made cotton, or a mix of Khadi and ordinary cotton.

In her book India Contemporary Design: Fashion, Graphics, Interiors (Roli), to be launched soon in India, Divia Patel, curator in the Asian department at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, UK, has several theories about why contemporary designers use Khadi from time to time. “They do this for historic reasons, for the ‘romance of the handmade’, and for the way in which its unique nature becomes a means of expressing Indianness in their work," she says.

View Full Image The Khadi ‘route case’ used by 11:11 Celldsgn to train village artisans

One, it doesn’t rely on elitist appeal, A-list consumers or Bollywood endorsements. Two, there is no jingoism. There is cause and consciousness but these designers don’t expect customers to convert to their ideology as long as they find buyers. “It is a conscious effort to be a part of the ethical and socially relevant cause of creating classic fashion that stands the test of time and ever-changing fashion trends, but not for symbolism. I never force it upon my customers," says Kolkata’s Paromita Banerjee, whose Spring/Summer 2014 collection Safed Rang Part 2 celebrates cotton vividly through easy and elegant prêt. So the buyer is not burdened with patriotic obligation.

Three, these designers create garments from mill-made cotton or hand-spun Khadi, with their entire concentration, time and design innovation going into the weave and tailoring, not decoration. That’s why they will help tweak the baseline definition of “modern" Indian fashion, which hinges on surface embellishments and “lehnga culture".

View Full Image A khadi ensemble by Metaphor Racha. Photo: Hemant Mishra/Mint

Chandrashekhar, a reluctant interviewee, says they would rather stay away from events which have made Indian fashion a platform without alternative movements. “Without sounding socialist, communist or capitalist, let’s not forget that there is a parallel economy which needs sustenance. Simple cotton and Khadi are important because of people’s involvement in producing them, the feel and texture of these fabrics, and the dimensions that open up about the Indian way of life when you speak of cotton," he says.

Whatever the ideological reasoning, he adds, cotton garments too need to be fashioned with an aesthetic of beauty; not for one minute should designers lose sight of the fact that people respond visually to fashion. He doesn’t believe that buyers of cotton must convert to the cause of weaver and farmer sustenance. “As long as it sells, that’s all that matters," he adds.

What emerges from all this is not just new and wearable fashion, but compelling social stories. While Banerjee, like Jai Gupta, favours the West Bengal belt for sourcing fine-count Khadi and cotton to support the weaver groups in that region, Chandrashekhar does the same in Karnataka. Their attempt, he says, is “to create a horizontal market with staunchly local craft, connecting weavers to buyers, instead of a hierarchical one".

View Full Image 100% handmade Khadi garments by 11:11 Celldsgn. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

“A hundred hands go into each garment, with farmers, spinners, dyers and tailors but the artisan who stitches the garment autographs his name on the garment," says Himanshu. The creative head of denim design at Arvind Mills, Rajesh Gupta, says: “We have collaborated on this because we believe in taking the idea of Indian design forward. The Khadi denim route is our way of working towards sustainability of artisan livelihoods, to retain an authentic Indian product and prevent weavers from migrating to cities." He adds that the final product does not necessarily need the Arvind Mills label on it.

Khadi denim separates set to hit 11:11’s retail store will be limited-edition and priced at ₹ 25,000 a piece because the production of hand-stitched garments isn’t yet feasible in large consignments. In addition, as Gupta says, “It has taken us three years to get this stage of fabric ready but we are working continuously to take it to the next level and make it of international, artisanal quality where it competes with other denims in global markets."

View Full Image Chandrashekhar (in white shirt) and Ravikiran of Metaphor Racha, Bangalore. Photo: Aniruddha Chowdhury/Mint

Shadangule believes that the market for pure-cotton fashion is only growing. “This work is significant because there is a big market waiting to be tapped. Cotton can address the needs of a variety of consumers. It will sustain as it will branch out into a separate segment," she says.

This is why Jai Gupta’s argument of “craft as couture" is a persuasive one. “Surely, the Indian diaspora looks for paisleys and motifs. But there are no bootis on my garments, which are visually flat and plain. My work is an interplay of visual geometry. And yes, cotton may mostly end up in day-wear garments as the fabric will never have ‘glaze’, so essentially it will sell less. But brands are about commitment and conviction. I want to scale up handlooms, remain in my comfort zone yet take it further. If I wanted to make money from fashion, I would open a sari store in Delhi," he says.

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Mumbai designer Vaishali Shadangule. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

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The story of kala cotton

In 2007, Khamir, a platform for the promotion of handicrafts and cultural practices, began working with Satvik, an association of organic farmers. The aim was to bring Kala Cotton, one of the few genetically pure old-world cotton species from India, to the attention of mainstream cotton manufacturers. The goals were to encourage sustainable cotton production and preserve agricultural and artisan livelihoods which had diminished drastically due to the rapid industrialization of the region after the 2001 earthquake.

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Kala Cotton is an eloquent story waiting for a mainstream debut. Photo courtesy: Khamir

Not only is this model a ready template for communities attempting similar work, there is technical learning in how the old-world cotton’s short staple length, which made it difficult to spin and weave has been developed into sturdier yarn by adjustments on the weaving looms.

To buy Kala Cotton garments or products, visit www.khamir.org, write to khamir.trade@gmail.com or call 02832-271272.

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