Indigenous textiles come alive at Symphony of Weaves

Positioned as the first ever global B2B textiles event in India, ‘Textiles India 2017’ brought to the fore the inspiring vision "From Farm to Fibre, Fibre to Factory, Factory to Fashion, Fashion to Foreign Exports". In this regard, "Symphony of Weaves", a fashion show curated and produced by IMG Reliance Industries Ltd at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar over the weekend, was a unique fashion presentation celebrating the story of Indian textiles in the form of exquisite innovations in craft and design.

The show was the largest curated presentation of Indian textiles on the runway that unfolded the story of growth and development of the Indian textiles sector and its transformation to become a global power. Inspired by the seven key notes of music that form the Sargam, a fundamental base for any tradition of music, the show celebrated the entire spectrum through seven key segments covering cottons, silks, wools, embroidery, hand-dyed and hand printed, modern/industrial and futuristic sustainable textiles of India.

Leading Indian designers joined hands with master-craftsmen to showcase their work in heritage handlooms, handicrafts as well as modern and futuristic textiles. The textile panaroma spans across regions and states of North-East India, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Assam and many more.

The story of the evolution of cottons in India was showcased by 31 designers such as AnavilaMisra, mastercraftsmen Chaman Siju from Kutch and RichanaKhumanthem from Manipur as well as Wendell Rodricks for Goa Kunbi Cotton Handlooms. The rich legacy of Indian silk included Banarasi Silks by Sanjay Garg, Meghalaya Ryndia Silk by Daniel Syiem and Tussar handlooms from Jharkhand by Shruti Sancheti. Rahul Misra and Rajesh Pratap Singh among others showcased the story of evolution of Wool.

The embroidery category was presented by eminent designers such as Anamika Khanna, Anita Dongre, Manish Malhotra, Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal, Sabyasachi, TarunTahiliani among others. Young gen next label Poochki collaborated with Master craftsman BerulalChippa from Rajasthan to showcase Bagru handicraft and Vineet Rahul collaborated with Mohammed Yusuf Khatri from Bagh, Madhya Pradesh to showcase Bagh handicrafts in high end fashion.

Gaurav Gupta and Pankaj & Nidhi presented modern textiles and in the final segment Abraham &Thakore, Amit Aggarwal, Hemang Agrawal and Manish Arora presented modern and futuristic textiles that included man-made fibres, metal yarns and sustainable recycled fabrics. Talking about how such shows are going to bridge the gap between designers, craftspeople and government, Dongre told: "It's for the first time that such a large initiative is done by the textile industry that everyone has come together to showcase what they got or are known for.

Our textile industry is very versatile and no other country has this versatile textile industry like ours, so it's good to see so many foreign buyers coming under one roof." The lavish set had a circular ramp and a huge spindle as the centre piece. The backdrop installation for the show was inspired by the handloom jacquard attachments for punching pattern cards that is considered as an initial version of the modern computer. The Symphony of Weaves fashion show was attended by Union Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani, Ajay Tamta, Minister of State for Textiles, and Industry Commissioner of Gujarat MamtaVerma.

By Nivedita