Gaurang to take jamdani art beyond just fashion at Kalpavrisha sari art show

‘Kalpavriksha – Sari Art Show to take place at Apparao Galleries in Delhi next month, Gaurang Shah fashion designer and textile revivalist taking a cue from this theme (Kalpavriksha – Tree of Life) all set to take the experience of Jamdani art beyond just fashion at the event.

Shah said that it will be a homage to an age-old craft that demonstrates to the viewer the benefits of combining separate schools of thought, traditions and philosophies of ‘Jamdani’ weave to form a new, favourable art fusion through different weaves of sari. He’s penchant for sari revival is well-known in the fashion circuit and to fashionistas around the world.

Shah has taken a varied approach to illustrate concept of the Tree of Life in some of the exquisite and complex variety of Indian embroidery – Kantha of Bengal, Zardosi of Hyderabad, Kasuti of Hubli, Marodi of Rajasthan, Chikankari of Lucknow, Kashidakari of Kashmir, Bandhani from Kutch and Parsi Gara from Mumbai.

The purpose of the show is to expose the common man to these long lost weaving and embroidery techniques. This new sari collection is a medium to bring back the appreciation to this laborious, lengthy and painstaking work of artisans.

The fusion between different natural yarns and the long lost Jamdani weaves conveys an exquisite balance between heritage heirloom and contemporary designs in his signature craft-couture saris.

Shah just like to keep doing different things to expand the hand woven fashion admiration. For him, making a sari is really is an art. According to him, it is something that you learn the basics of and the more you practice, the better you get. Finding the right fabric and preparing it to be made into a sari is the hard work.

At theKalpavriksha, the saris to be showcased in the gallery are the allegorical portrayal of Tree Of Life through an opulent collection of Indian textile in the traditional art of weaving Jamdani.