| Did you know Kalamkari, the design which we all are raving about today, got its name only in the 1950s though the weaving tradition had existed in the country for hundreds of years? As Delhi-based textile designer and historian Mayank Mansingh Kaul enlightens us, it is just an example to stress the importance of acknowledging history to understand the origins of contemporary designs and the people who have been instrumental in bringing about such changes in the field in the last few decades.
Kaul, who was in the city to give a talk on ‘Contemporary Histories: Indian Textiles since 1947’ at Apparao Galleries on Sunday said the major drawback in the study of textile designing has been a dearth of documented literature on its history. “When I went to study in the National Institute of Design, we read books on the history of textiles a hundred years ago. There was nothing about the recent happenings that have shaped the industry of today,” he says.
Kaul switched from being a textile designer to a textile historian and opined that contemporary history should be a staple for budding designers to facilitate innovation. “In a way, it would stop the trend of ‘reinventing the wheel’ or the ‘copy paste culture’, which are a fallout of ignorance of history,” he adds.
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Talking about the changes that occurred in textile designing in India since independence and the people who brought several reforms, he says there has been a wide shift from the use of khadi in the 1930s and 1940s to today.
“Gandhi brought khadi to the fore in the 40s, while the 50s brought international influences like Art Deco to India. Polyester was introduced in the 60s, leading to big mills. The 70s saw the hippy culture. The next decade saw ethnic revival and people wanted to go back to their zardosis and Co-optex. It was also a time when NGOs linked crafts to livelihood. The Indian economy opened up in the 90s and the fashion industry boomed. There was also a lot of dialogue on how we have been inspired by the West,” he sums up.
Because of the changes, the markets expanded and everything co-exists today. “We have people buying Italian suits that cost Rs 1 lakh a metre to fabrics with block printing and ikat to designer wear from the houses of Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Tarun Tahliani. Handloom weaving has also seen a boom in the past decade. There was a time when households in the North East and Uttaranchal produced handlooms only for their domestic use. But today, they produce handlooms for trade, which in turn gives them a source of livelihood,” he says.
Kaul says the biggest achievement so far has been the Indian designers’ desire to stay rooted to the craft tradition of the country. “The word artisanal has been one of the biggest trends for the last few seasons. Brands like Gucci and Chanel are now drawing inspiration from Indian designs and producing their embroidery in India,” he says.
Despite Indian designs and craft being celebrated on a global platform, Kaul rues it has relegated the position of the Indian artisan. “Earlier, if you wore a sari, the design was conceived by a weaver. But today, it’s the fashion designer who takes the cake! Though the artisan does the weaving, he/she has little say in how the final product is sold and perceived,” he avers but also sounds hopeful of the young designers, who “seem ethical and believe in fair trade while the customer has become more aware. A lot of designers are sourcing their goods from traditional craftsmen and in many brands, the name of the artisan is also mentioned.”
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