FASHION

THE HANDLOOM HERITAGE

India is divinely known for its culture, traditions and ethnicity. The ancient history of handlooms is extraordinarily vivid and has traces of its origin back to the 8th century. The impressive convention of handweaving is a dominant part of India's cultural heritage. The weavers of India, inculcate art into variant, flexible and everlasting experimentation of fabric that elevates the fashion industry. Handlooms are timeless and reflect a beautiful masterpiece made by talented artisans and weavers. Every handloom fabric is different from another, even if I have two weavers that craft the same design, there will be a difference because each handloom story depends on the weaver’s mood. His style, art, and mood reflect in the hand-woven classic.

- By Avanthika Reddy

HISTORY OF HANDLOOM

Source: chinmayaupahar.in

Indian Handloom dates back to the Indus valley civilization. Even in ancient times, Indian fabrics were exported from Rome, Egypt and China.

In earlier times, almost every village had its own weavers who made all the clothing requirements needed by the villagers like sarees, dhotis, etc. Some areas where it is cold in winter there were specific wool weaving centers. But everything was Hand-Spun and Hand-Woven.

Traditionally, the entire process of cloth making was self-reliant. The cotton / silk / wool came from the farmers, foresters or shepherds, and the cotton was cleaned and transformed by weavers themselves or the agricultural labour community. Small handy instruments were used in the process, including the famous spinning wheel (also known as Charkha), mostly by women. This hand spun yarn was later made into cloth on the handloom by the weavers

HANDLOOM IS TIMELESS

Source: chinmayaupahar.in

In India there are different styles of weaving in different parts of the country, and sometimes in the same region there could be as wide a range as 20- 30 varied styles. From simple plain fabrics, Tribal motifs, geometric designs, tye and dye, to exhaustive art on muslin. Our weavers have been master craftspeople. No other country can boast of such an exclusive range of rich textile art, even today.

Just like paintings and photographs, each woven sari is a masterpiece. Saying that handloom must perish for its time consuming and laborious compared to powerloom, is like saying painting, photography, clay modelling will go obsolete because of 3d printers and graphic designs.

HANDLOOM AND THE FASHION WORLD

GAURANG SHAH

Gaurang Shah is a famous designer from Hyderabad. With the fashion world developing and moving to trends from the west, Gaurang Shah made his statement in the world of Handloom. A self taught designer who is one of the award winning designers in our country has an eye for Indian Heritage and Ethnicity. He has tremendously made efforts in bringing back the dying art of weaving and popularizing KHADI. His magical collection “Taramati” turned heads at the Lakme Fashion week 2020. An enormous display of 30 handwoven sarees inspired from the Golconda era were brought into the limelight. Inspired by a courtesan of the Golconda era “Taramati” Gaurang Shah revived the tradition and elegance of Hyderabad history.

A total fashionista, SHravan Kumar is one of India’s famous designers and is well known for his fascinating pieces that absolutely match the ongoing styles and trends. Shravan Kumar is highly recognized for his bold usage of handloom fabrics and making them a prominent part of his designs. He leaves no stone unturned in delving vintage saree master pieces.

GEETHIKA KANUMILLI

Starting her label at a very young age, Geethika is now a well known designer in Hyderabad. Her label specialises in Traditional embroidery and upbeat,chic and vibrant aesthetic. All of her silhouettes are an amalgamation of Indian and Western styles and this makes her brand stand out.

HANDLOOM WEAVERS AROUND HYDERABAD

Telangana has unique handloom clusters crafting elegant compositions of fabric. Pochampally, Gadwal and Narayanpet are some hot spots for buying exclusive pieces directly from the weavers.

Pochampally

Pochampally sari or Pochampally ikat is a saree made in Bhoodan Pochampally, Yadadri Bhuvanagiri district, Telangana State, India. They have traditional geometric patterns in the Ikat style of dyeing. The intricate geometric designs find their way into sarees and dress materials. Distance: 46km Speciality: Ikat Fabric

Gadwal

Gadwal saree is a handcrafted woven saree style in Gadwal of Jogulamba Gadwal District in Telangana. They are most notable for the zari on sarees. Distance: 188km Speciality: Zari saree

Narayanpet

These are handloom sarees woven using interlock-weft technique. They are known for durability, affordability and low maintenance. These sarees can be found in dual shades like pink-purple and maroon-mustard with contrast pallu and border. Distance: 167 km Speciality: Dual colour cotton sarees

Gollabhama

Pure cotton sarees with exquisite lady figures on the border make Gollabhama sarees a fabulous hit. Subtle colours and contrast borders add class and simplicity to the handwoven masterpiece. These sarees are highly known for their low maintenance and comfort . Distance:103km Speciality: Cotton saree with figures

INSTAGRAM STORES TO SHOP FROM

THE HANDLOOM PROJECT

The handloom project offers custom made gorgeous handloom clothing. They extend the boundaries of handloom and inculcate trendy styles and statement pieces. They have a variety of choices to pick from. Instagram: @the_handloom_project

MOGRA

Lovely sarees that hold the tale of hand-woven art can be found here. Mogra specialises in stunning sarees and a variety of patterns and styles to prefer from. From statement sarees to simple ones, Mogra has them all. Instagram: @mogra.in

POCHAMPALLY SAREES

If you are looking for Ikkat pieces handcrafted from the art village of Pochampally, then this page is the right option for you. Beautiful designs and eye candy bright colours give you all the reasons to shop from here. Instagram: @pochampally_sares

HANDLOOM ADMIRERS

Individuals from different walks of life showcase their fondness for handlooms and express the role handlooms play in their life.

“Since I was a kid, handlooms have predominantly been a part of my life. Later in life as I learnt how each fabric is individually weaved by hand, my respect and love for the handloom community increased. Handlooms have now become a daily part of my life, from work wear to casual wear, I prefer handlooms. It is this unexplainable feeling I have when you support real art that makes me choose handlooms over and over again”.

Bhavana, Financial Analyst

“India has a long tradition of excellence in making handlooms and as an individual I feel that it is important to recognize this excellence and keep the tradition alive for generations to come. We might be very modern, westernized and adopt foreign cultures but we must remember where we come from and what we represent. Possessing love for and recognizing traditional handlooms and artisan work helps us stay closer to our motherland and its wonders. It's great to see so many small businesses come up with ideas to expand the horizon for handlooms. It is something this generation should put light on and be proud of”.

Harkeerat Kaur,Student

“I love handloom products because of their extremely rich heritage, intricate designs and also that they are sustainable. That being said at a time when the country’s textile culture is vanishing, I also feel that we should know what we had and have lost because of the power looms taking over, the practice of wearing handlooms faded away. Exposing children to handloom is a great tool to reclaim our culture. Hence, we should do our bit to preserve the country’s heritage textiles for the future generation”.

Vani Videha, BFA in Applied Arts.

“I believe there is nothing else that can compensate for the beauty of handlooms. With the latest innovations and technology taking over the handmade handloom craft, the ethnicity and uniqueness of the craft is deteriorating by the day. We all must support our artisans as they are the creative threshold of handloom culture in our country”.

Gaddamanugu Jayaprada, Employee

“Handlooms are my personal favorite. They are my statement style choice and can never let me down. They are comfortable and reflect India’s cultural dynamics. I would prefer handlooms any day and would never miss a chance to support our local weavers”.

Himabindu Reddy, Homemaker

“Being 90 I have seen a lot in this world. From the pre-independence era to the days of online classes. Earlier in my youth, Handlooms were a major source of fashion to us. We used to directly buy from the weavers and artisans. But the latest development of power looms has taken the gift of art from the weavers. I have experienced the true form of art and encourage future generations to recognise the value of handlooms. My personal favourite is Gadwal cotton sarees”.

Sucharitha Devi, Homemaker

“I have always been amazed looking at how my mom would wear crisp cotton sarees. The dedicated and hardworking weavers make such beautiful patterns and it reflects the Indian culture and tradition. Handloom Sarees look elegant and classy in all age groups as well. What makes the love for saree more special to me is that my husband [makers sure to give me a saree of a different style weave on my birthdays!”.

Deepika Jain, Home Baker