Ishita Kulkarni • Clothing
• Textile
• Fashion
Hello! I am Ishita Kulkarni, I graduated from the Department of Clothing and Textile, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Vadodara, Gujarat. I enjoy doing process based work, conceptualization, print making, pattern making and manipulation. I am very interested in hand crafted products, embroidery, weaves, arts and crafts of India and its minute detailing. Apart from all this, I enjoy sketching and illustration, travelling and documentation of my journeys, wildlife photography and reading.
Contents Embroidery Prints Weaves Motifs & Patterns Fashion Illustrations Theatre & Drama –Natyapanchatantram Lights ,Camera & action – Akela Chand Theme Automobiles. Poshak- collection of unique ensembles Documentation : Kutch – Land of crafts
Embroidery : Threads Of Communication In this project I have attempted to study embroideries that hail from dierent regions of India. My focus was on understanding the mythologies, stories, motifs and the materials used to create this magnificent pieces of art. Further I expanded my range to understand their end uses and their product diversification. A craft and its intricacies cannot be understood until we do it. Here are some samples that I made in duration of my study.
Phulkari of Punjab
Phulkari meaning floral work is a count thread embroidery. The motifs are essentially flowers in geometric manner which is worked on khaddar with silk floss. Darning stitch is closely worked in parallel manner to obtain the finished look. This embroidery is worked on dark background with bright colors of floss.
Embroidery of Gujarat
It is an amalgamation of 16 dierent styles of embroidery which is mastered by tribes of that region i.e. mochi bharat, kanbi bharat, aabla, aari , rabari, etc. to name a few styles. Mirrors and applique are unique features. Peacocks, parrots are their favorite motifs along with Sindhi Taropa which is intricate interlacing of threads in a square.
Kantha Of Bengal
Gold & Silver
Gold and silver embroidery is known by several names such as Zardosi, badla, kamdani, etc. Along with salmo, tiki, dori,badla etc. stitches like satin, couching, ,chain, stem, running are used to give body and structure. Motifs range from animals, floral, scriptures to famous monuments.
Kantha is a traditional folk art of Bengal, which is worked on several layers of fabric. Fabric used is Mulmul or Daccai cotton. Traditionally white fabric was used or worn out dhotis and saris. Very small Darning stitches are used. Variation and texture is created by increasing and decreasing the stitch length and position. The motifs range from human figures, chariots to fishes and lotuses.
Print : Traditional impressions The main focus of this project was techniques & styles of printing, aesthetics and execution. In the journey of this project I discovered some conventional, unconventional and traditional printing styles. Experimenting and visualization were handy skills and execution was tricky one to achieve with experience. It was a process filled with colours , experiments, patience and surprises! Every style of printing is beautiful in its own unique manner. But the end result and purpose of printing defines which technique to be used for the best results.
Stencil Printing
Stencil printing gives an eect of joining pieces of a puzzle as we break the design by bridges and create islands where color is filled. More the number of colors, more number of stencils. Its employed for small scale printing as it is a very tedious and time consuming process
Batik
Batik is a process of creating patterns by wax resist. The cracks that are created by crumbling the fabric after applying wax is the beauty of this style. Beautiful contrast of color that is created inspired me to express the contrasting emotions and expressions. Thus I chose two faces having expressions of happiness and sorrow showing the drama in life.
Tie & Dye : Resist Printing
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The means of resisting in this style is waxed thread, simple thread or objects. The area that has to be resisted is tied by thread by folding in various manner. In this project I explored the traditional methods as well expanded my horizon to unconventional ones. Experimented obtaining textures by resisting with different kinds of objects. This creates beautiful effects and patterns that are natural but are difficult to re-create. The fabric used is Mulmul as it is thin and can be tied easily. Starting clockwise from right, it is a pattern created by tying pencil with its point down. The second one is created by folding the fabric in square and fixing hair pins diagonally. The third one is created by pleating and fixing u-pins. The next is a hand tritik created by small darning hand stitches. The fifth one is created by pleating the fabric diagonally. The sixth one is created by resisting with the help of safety pins. The seventh one is leheriya, and eighth one is crumbling.
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Block Printing In this assignment I went through the whole process of block printing. Starting from making the designs for block, carving it out on the soft wood to preparing the color tray and printing table. I experimented with vegetable dyes as well as synthetic dyes. Tried dierent layouts and print repeats. From top left is a combination of outline and filler bloc in vegetable dyes. The second one is with pigments in half drop repeat. The third is a jal of flowers inspired from architecture of Rajasthan. Fourth one is the block carved during assignment and its impression.
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Cardboard Weaves
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This project was focused on weaving techniques and styles. Card board weaving enhanced my understanding of weaving. In this assignment I used woolen yarns to weave, as it was easy to remove and re do it in case of mistake. From top left first is the Interlock technique, second is Slit technique and third is Dovetail technique. Fourth one is Oriental sumac knot, fifth is a Spanish lace, sixth is a leno lace. The seventh one is Egyptian knot followed by Danish medallion.
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Motifs & Patterns This assignment was all about motifs, patterns and repeats. I formulated linear pattern and dierent motifs and worked on their practical application. This refined my understanding of repeat systems and aesthetics.
Chain
Fret
Interlacement
Scroll
scroll
Linear Patterns
Motif & Product Geometric Motif
Product : wallet Media : poster colors, pencil colors, point pen
Illusion Motif
Product : pillow cover Media : water colors, pencil colors, point pen, Fevicol and sand.
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Motif & Product
Traditional Motif Product : Kurti (painted yoke) Media : poster colors, pencil colors, point pen
Abstract Motif Product : One shoulder dress Media : poster colors, pencil colors, point pen, Fevicol.
Motif & Product
Novel Motif Product : Pencil dress with side slit. Media : pencil colors, point pen
Contemporary Motif Product : full circular skirt. Media : poster colors, pencil colors, point pen
Fashion Illustrations In this project I have sketched and rendered dierent silhouettes, texture, garments. I also expanded my range by trying dierent medias of colours. Through this project I refined my sense of color, the body divisions and got better with my hand skills.
A column silhoue.e Media: HB and 2B pencils, point pen, pencil colors.
A one shoulder dress. Media: sketch pens, pencil colors and point pen.
A flared Anarkali dress. Media: pencil colors
An evening gown siren silhoue.e. Media: poster colors, pencil colors and point pen.
A side slit evening gown Media: pencil colors, dry pastels and point pen.
A Mermaid silhoue.e. Media: water colors, pencil colors and point pen.
An Amphora silhoue.e Media: pencil colors and point pen.
Natya-Panchatantram : A Sanskrit play. This is a on going project where in I am doing costumes for a theatre production. The story is from old mythologies in Sanskrit called as Panchatantra which is written by pundit Vishnu Sharma and is directed by Mukund Kulkarni.
Natya-Panchatantram : A Sanskrit play. This is a Sanskrit play, which is based on the short stories written by pundit Vishnu Sharma. In this the story unfolds with various animal characters which posses certain human traits. There were two major costume departments - human characters & animal characters. The human characters were comparatively simpler as they were tried and tested by me in various college projects. But the animal costumes were a tricky one to pull o as I didn't’t want to hire out body costumes or masks as it would make it very obvious. Thus I started my research buy talking to people and asking them what are the first images that come to their minds when I talk about a certain animal. Through this I picked up the peculiar physical characteristics of the animals which define them
To achieve an equilibrium amongst the human characters and the animal characters and yet to make them look stark apart, I chose a basic costume of white kurta and pajama. On this white base I would drape dupattas and stoles of significant colors to define them. This also helped as the time to change between two costumes was very less. For the elite human characters like the kings, court men, ministers and prince which did not have any change and were continuously on stage I went for little elaborate costumes that would define their social status and maintain hierarchy.
These are photos taken during the initial dress rehearsals
Akela Chand : costumes for movie This movie is based on a love story between a mermaid and an euent painter. The story is set in the early 1900’s in the princely state of Bengal. The movie is directed by Vivek Bagul and shooting is based in Nashik, Maharashtra. This is an on going project.
Technical sketches in rough
These are the rough sketches during the process of finalizing the garments. The cuts, lines materials, fabrics are still being processed due to changes in set and visual eects background.
Final sketches
Costumes for Dream Sequence media : poster colors, pencil colors and point pen
Costumes for Mermaid Media : poster colors, pencil colors and point pen
Automobiles
These designs are an inspiration from automobiles. This collection was a part of my final graduation project. We had an extensive market survey, study of the fashion forecast and rigorous design process. In this project I worked from the initial designing of the garment till bringing it to realization and its construction. Understanding the whole process of designing and getting the garments ready to wear was an eye opening as well as an exciting experience for me.
Car gown
I have always had this love for vintage cars and I love their form. I took my inspiration from Volkswagen beetle with pop neon colors. In this design I experimented with screen printing and stencils. The concept of this design is that’ our own creation is now killing us. ‘ The skirt resembles a mountain and dotted lines are the roads, and the wire mesh is the smoke that goes round the neck giving a choking eect. Media : water colors, wax crayons, pencil colors and point pens
Technical sketches The garment was made in two parts and then stitched together. The upper bodice is a corset with shoulder straight waist princess line. In the seams of princess line for front and back boning was fused for better fitting. At the back the garment is finished with chain at center back. It has a sweetheart neckline thus boning was attached there as well for better fitting and retaining of the shape. The fabric used for corset is black sequence The skirt is a full circular skirt in black jeans fabric. Which is printed with the car motif. At the hem line of the skirt again boning was used so that it would give a graceful fall to the gown. The smoke is made of binding wire. By making several spirals I further went on attaching them to form a chain long enough to go round the models head. I chose black as my base color for all the garments because of the roads being of tan grey to dark black in color. And chose neon's to print so that the eye follows them as prints and they stand out.
The wire mesh
Neon printed car on the skirt
Cars in the rain
This design is the expansion of the previous design. I have used the same motif of the car in neon's on black background.. The top bodice is again a fitted corset. This ball gown skirt resembles an umbrella. This depicts the traďŹƒc jams in the rains. With black color grading from dark to light from top to bottom, it gives eect of falling water on an umbrella.
Media : water colors, wax crayons, pencil colors and point pen
Wheel dress
Media : color pencils and point pen
This dress is inspired from the wheel. I took my inspiration from a cycle wheel and its spokes. The triangular spaces that are created between two spokes fascinated. I wanted to materialize into something related to transparency and cut out triangular spaces. Thus I converted this into a repeat of wheels of varying sizes for cut work embroidery.
Technical Sketch
This is a calf length kurta with a Chinese collar and full sleeves. It has a slit in the center front for ease in wearing. The kurta is sDtches with shoulder straight waist princess for good fiFng. I have chosen black george.e fabric for this dress as it has a good fall and is easy to embroider and at the same Dme to cut out the triangle of cut work. First whole cut work embroidery was done on the fabric and then the panels of princess line were cut. AIer the front was all sDtched up alternate triangle in the circles were burnt out with incandescent sDck. And then the reaming sDtching of the kurta was finished. I took silver metallic thread for embroidery to give it a shiny metallic look that of the spokes of the cycle wheel.
Detailed view of cut work embroidery
Evening dress and an Evening gown
These two designs are my further experimentation with wheel cut work I added the cut work lace as a yoke in the first design along with dual colored lace. Giving it a feel of evening dress. Whereas the second design I kept it in solid black in a mermaid silhouette. The wheels grading in size from small to big. This dress gives a red carpet feeling with eye catching red stilettoes. Also the back of the black dress is woven into a wheel.
Media : pencil colors, water colors and point pen
Cocktail dress
This dress is an inspiration from the structure of the wheel. The concept is that if a full sized wheel is magnified 50% and transferred on to fabric by digital printing. If its cut round and draped around the body. The fitting can be taken care by princess line or body suit drafting on Lycra. It can be made into a beautiful one shoulder cocktail dress. At the place of the screws in the center just cut it open in a circular form to add design details.
Media : water colors, pencil colors and point pen
Quilted truck print coat
When it comes to trucks in India they are colorful and are filled with graphics. I took inspiration from these quirky prints and transferred them into prints in pop colors by digital printing. Transformed the prints into a statement jacket with full sleeves and cus. And the stand collar adds the grace to it.
Media : water colors, pencil colors and point pen
Poshak Trendy collection of unique ensembles.
These five garments were a part of my final year in college. In this assignment I experimented with dierent cuts, styles and patterns. The inspirations of these garments come from deep rooted Indian culture to retro Bollywood songs. Every garment has its own dierent story behind it which will unfold in the pages ahead.
Kalidar kurta Technical sketches
This is a Kalidar kurta. This style comes from Lucknow, Jammu & Kashmir region of India. It is a very loose garment with extra fullness added by joining kalis to the center panel. It has two pockets in either of the kali. It’s a daily wear comfortable garment. It has a painted long yoke. The motifs taken in painting are Madhubani lotuses which again come from Madhya Pradesh state of India. The yoke adds life and pop to the kurta. The inspiration for this kurta was to mix traditional clothing of two completely dierent region and yet make them look as one. The fabric used is poplin. And for painting the yoke fabric colors and acrylic paints were used.
Detailed view of the painted yoke.
Angarakha This ensemble is an inspiration from costumes of Marathas. Marathas are a warrior tribe native to Maharashtra. Their costumes have an apt blend of Mughal influence and Maharashtrian tradition. The inspiration for this costume came from the beautiful orange woven lace, that was originally from a sari called KaliChandrakala, which is native to Maharashtra. It is double breasted pattern with kalis below the bust. The lace is attached to the collar, sleeve hems, panel edges and the dress hem. The lace makes your eye follow in a rhythmic manner. The lace also adds grace to the black background of
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the dress
Detail view of lace at the hem.
Ghaghara & Choli Technical sketches This ensemble is inspired from the dance festival of Gujarat i.e. navratri. Instead of going the traditional way, I contemporaries the ensemble. Instead of using the traditional embroidery, I used block printed fabrics in the form of laces on the bottom of the Ghaghara (skirt). And added few mirrors on the flare of the skirt to add some bling, as it will have a beautiful eect when worn at night under the lights during the dance festival. I clubbed it up with a plain golden blouse which is finished with princess line. The blouse (choli) adds grace to the ensemble and doesn’t take away the charm from the Ghaghara which is the prime focus. To add charm to the ensemble I added handmade woolen tassels to the skirt and a beautiful bandhani dupatta.
Woolen tassels
Detailed view of the laces on Ghaghara
Anarkali Anarkali is a style of clothing which is not originally from India. It was brought to India by the Mughal emperors during their invasion in India. It was an ensemble which was flaunted by the Mughal queens and mistresses. With time the garment came in vogue and has gone under many changes over the time. I added a twist to this ensemble by taking very a dierent pallet of colors and dierent fabrics as well. For the yoke I took a Mushroo fabric, which is a traditional textile hailing from Gujarat region .for the below kalis I took beige georgette which was in contrast with the black of mushroo in the yoke. The georgette also has great fall and flare to it. I added a pop of color by adding a little bit of fuscia pink in controlled fashion by adding piping the neck, and added as lace in the hem of the dress.
In the hem of the dress I have used a Jardozi lace which was bought to India again by Mughals. The yoke is finished by princess line whereas it has an open back which gives it a trendy look. I added fuscia pink bold tassel which add charm and grace to other wise bland black dupatta. This ensemble is best pick to wear for an evening party or a wedding ceremony.
Elephant pants
These style of pants was in the vogue in the 80’s. They have a retro feel to it. It is made on Muslin cloth. First it was pleated and dyed to get the effect of lines on it. After which it was block printed in brick repeat. The print is traditional but I tried giving it a retro look with elephant pants. It’s a best pick for a summer day out, they are loose and have a elegant fall. They are teamed up with solid colored blouses or shirts they look best. It has cut away pockets in the front with two darts at front and back..
Detail view of the print
Photo credits : Indrajeet Deshmukh Kunal Samant Model : Natasha Pereira Costume & Ishita Kulkarni styling :
Documentation Kutch: Land Of Crafts
Kutch lies in the north western part of India in the state of Gujarat. It is India’s white desert, which is blessed bountifully with Arts and Crafts. Innumerous tribes having dierent forte amalgamate to create a platform of craft ranging from embroideries, beadwork, dyeing, printing weaving to pottery. The crafts are their deep rooted traditions, and their self impression. There are generations artisans who have been doing these crafts. Kutch can be called the craft hub of India wisely as it has something for everyone.
My first memory of Kutch was flat white dessert, spread endlessly in every direction. But the crafts of Kutch show a complete reverse picture in terms of colours. They have bright and vibrant colours. Even the clothing of various tribes has a dash of colours as if they are making up for the monochrome terrain of Kutch. The clothing of the locals strikes a visual balance against the backdrop of white Rann.
Decorations on the wall with mirror and clay. On backdrop of sunset some notes of local music.
I visited a village near Dhordo which claimed to sell all handmade traditional articles of Kutch. Women of Kutch fascinated me with their various moods, aggressively marketing their merchandise, being shy and hiding behind their bright dupattas, at times even boldly looking into the camera for a photograph. I found a vivid contrast of modern influence and traditional value in the dressing of women. Innumerous piercing in the ears, white bangles high up their arms, draping style of the dupatta, and their Ghagharas spoke a lot about their deep traditional values in clothing. But at the same time dupatta being of synthetic material, extensive use of machine embroidery in their garments left me confused and fumbling for the reasons that why so..?
Women of Kutch in their dierent moods
As a textile student my love for crafts is undying. I have a strong feeling that crafts should be conserved and commercialized but in the right direction. There are various reasons for the change which can be debated on, but they need to be thought of.
Women of Kutch in their dierent moods
Segments of national award winning shawl
Extra weft peacock pattern in progress.
Weaving in progress
On my way back to Bhuj I dropped by Bhujodi, which seemed to be the bubbling craft capital of Kutch. Here I got to see all the crafts neatly organized in the craft center. But what fascinated me most was the weavers weaving in the front courtyard of their house. Pit Looms were like an indispensable furniture of their homes. Here not only I got to see the weavers in action weaving shawls, but also got to see national award winning shawl. The intricacy and back breaking patience of the weaver left me spell bound. Here I got a chance to interact with the weaver and get to know their side of the story. The kind of demand, market value, from where they source the material. I was shocked to know that the weaver had woven his first full length shawl at the age of 12..! Through the weaver I got to know that mass production of the shawls is having its negative impact on the creativity and innovation in their weaving. On asking that which is his favorite piece of weaving‌. The weaver went in deep retrospect and replied that he is yet to make it. This dedication, passion and love for his work inspired me beyond words. But what I learnt that mere passion and patience doesn’t only work, it has to be combined with intricate planning.
In the course of my trip to Kutch I also visited Ajrakhpur. As the name suggests, it has deep relation to Ajrakh the style of printing which is done on both the sides of the fabric giving it a rich look. but the best part of the visit was that I got to see the use of natural dyes. I got to know about their natural availability, their synthetic derivatives, the deep chemistry and the precision required. printing is undertaken in several stages, from preparing the fabric to giving it finishing touches.
Ajrakh in process.
Resist dyeing in process.
Apart from Ajrakh they practice other styles of printing like resist. Combining mud with adhesive and using it ton resist portions of fabric to create patterns and designs. In dyeing these fabrics predominantly indigo is used. The process of resisting and dyeing is repeated couple of times to achieve combination and layers of dierent colours. Apart from indigo other natural dyes are used as well.
Also I saw some splendid needle work. I couldn’t see it in process‌ but saw their beautiful end products for sale and bought them also..!! Superior quality, patience and delicate stitches. Even though embroidery of Kutch is known over seven seas and has been contemporized in many ways, still the traditional form of embroidery appeals to me. I also saw some splendid bead work as torans, accessories for their camels, and beautiful jewelry. The jewelry can be said as the contemporary form, but accessories of the camel shows the traditional flavor of it. In an all my visit to Kutch was very colourful and versatile. I saw crafts of various sectors apart from textiles which broadened my horizon. It also made me very sensitive toward traditional handicrafts and most importantly sensitive towards the skill of an artisan. Eager to explore Kutch further..!
Bead work jewelry.
Embroidered patches
Thank You Ishita Kulkarni kulkarniishita@yahoo.in