Some prominent Indian designers from the fashion industry have taken the responsibility to promote hand crafted textile of the country after realizing that they have ignored the powerful legacy craftsmanship in a race to make their mark in the global market.
Delhi-based designer Rajesh Pratap Singh, Pero by Aneeth Arora, Anupama Bose from Jaipur, Hemang Agarwal and Asif Shaikh used the platform of Lakme Fashion Week, to give these artisans the much needed respect and recognition, by collaborating with them for a show titled “Walking Hand in Hand”.
Organized by the Craft+Design+Society (CDS), lead by Ahemdabad based Shaikh, the effort was aimed at creating awareness about the versatility of their textile crafts. The 47 years old Shaikh having worked on reinventing textiles and embroidery for more than 22 years, says designers use the craft, but do not share the credit with artisans.
The motto is to give the artisans their due for the hours of work and labour they put in to create the final garment. The aim is to encourage them for preserving the priceless art they have inherited. By giving them a global platform they also aim at making the younger generation understand the worth of this legacy, Shaikh said.
The collection showcased at LFW had Aneeth collaborating with Jakir Hussain Mondal, Anupama joining hands with Jislumdubbin Neelgar, Hemang with Sharfuddin Ansari, Rajesh Pratap with Haseem Muhammad and Shaikh with award winning artisan Abdul Jabbar Khatri.
Anupama, who is the only designer to work exclusively with ‘lehriya’ pattern of Rajasthan, said the younger generation lacks the patience required to work with artisans. Learning to work with the craftsman is like a ‘tapasya’. There is a huge market for Indian craftsmanship.
According to designer Rajesh Pratap, who has worked all his career with various artisans, it is high time for them as designers to give the credit to their artisans, who are always behind the curtains.
To make hand crafted textile a global brand, big corporate fashion houses need to be involved in providing space to the craftsmen in both local and international market.
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