Conditioning, a memory, an intrinsic part of our culture – the ideas surrounding this handmade, hand-woven fabric are many, as we learn from some of the country’s leading designers.
Last Sunday, in his address to the nation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke for Khadi. However, apart from calling for “record-breaking sales” on October 2, he also urged the audience to buy handlooms. His words reflected how many people in the design community are speaking out. Yes, Khadi is associated with the identity of freedom and self-reliance that Mahatma Gandhi wanted for Indians, but being #VocalForLocal in the 21st century means looking beyond trademarks (KVIC, or Khadi and Village Industries Commission, the owner of ‘Khadi’) ‘ and ‘Khadi India’, as the Delhi Tribunal ruled recently). What we should pay attention to is hand made and hand made. As David Abraham, fashion designer at Abraham & Thakore, puts it, “the cultural narrative should be centered on all handmade Indian clothing.” A statement echoed by veteran designer Ritu Kumar: “Many of our handlooms can be part of India’s textile story – from Chanderi and Jamdani to Mangalagiri and Bengal handloom.” This Gandhi Jayanti, we chat with designers about whether khadi represents patriotism, its changing narratives and how handlooms are showcased to new audiences.
Tarun Tahiliani
Khadi is a method of spinning yarn. You can do Khadi in cotton, in silk, in all kinds of different fabrics. While I don’t think there is any better way to wear patriotism than with khadi, I also feel that it doesn’t need to be expressed just through it. For me to be a patriot is to keep our culture alive in an organic way. There is nothing patronizing about it; I do this because I love it. And, through the pandemic, I’ve decided that [from now on] Almost everything, right up to the dinner set, I am going to buy in India. Because some kind of craft resonates in everything I like and enjoy.
FOr a Gen Z audience: Khadi can and should be promoted to a younger audience, but it will only work if it is relevant to their lives. In our new line, we have a beautiful Khadi section of exquisitely tailored pieces (pictured here) in the right weight of Khadi fabric, so that people can understand them and adapt them to their contemporary lives. Designers have to make Khadi contemporary and relevant, and people will be happy to wear it.
Ritu Kumar
From chanderi and jamdani to mangalgiri and bengal handlooms – many of our handlooms can be part of the fabric story of India. Such beauty and quality is rare in weaving anywhere else in the world.
wooEves to Champion: While I would never give up on my khadi sarees, I would choose my south cotton fabrics, especially Madras checks. I was traveling from Madurai and Chidambaram just before the pandemic, and I worship Chettinad and KanjuEEvermi Saree, too. Also there is nothing like white woven cotton fabric – take the white and gold weaves of Kerala. White cotton is India’s black.
Khadi for a new Market: We need to make Khadi viable for all stylistic changes. Young generation will not want to wear saree every day, but will opt for Khadi shirt or a top. There is not a single rack in our store where Khadi is not sold. It is easy on the eyes, and nowadays people don’t mind a sloppy look.
Rahul Mishra
Khadi is not just a cloth; It is a symbol — of Swarajya, inclusivity, and self-reliance. When we look at inclusivity, the inclusivity of the process is really important. This is what is most powerful about Khadi, and what Mahatma Gandhi understood.
Real patriotism comes when in whatever you do, you also think about the society and how it will help. My grandmother used to weave khadi yarn and give it to a local village weaver. It was a beautiful system. Whatever creates jobs is patriotism.
New audience: Today’s youth need to be made aware of the real value of Khadi [any handloom fabric qualifies if the yarn is handspun], and the idea of stability it carries. If Khadi is offered in a purposeful manner, there is no reason why Gen Z would not like to adopt it. Design intervention is needed to create something that is modern and beautiful.
Bhushan in Jamdani tunic which he had procured from local weavers of West Bengal
Anand Bhushan
Our embroidery is the real star of our country. from zardosi aaris, KAshida To Kin the end, toda Pukhur To KAchi, Chamba RUmali To CHikankari, Kheng To test… we have the most talented craftsmen in India. And then there are silks from all over India. I try to source as much locally as possible with most silks from Karnataka or Uttar Pradesh, and cotton and chanderi From Bhagalpur or Bengal. When my label uses our traditional crafts and features them in a contemporary story, it gives me a sense of patriotism and belonging.
Saunak Sen, House of Three
Patriotism is a feeling and in today’s world this word scares me. It should not mean bigotry, but how as an individual, what you do can help enable others in your country. India has a deep knowledge of the past, but it is in an acute state of decay.
ready for the future: Khadi is relevant, but we should also look to the future. Because cotton is, at the end of the day, a diva crop. It cannot solve the problem of 7.9 billion people. The solution is to merge the two worlds. Handspun, handwoven in our new autumn-winter collection, Dravid Jamdani And kaftanso, but there are also mill-made clothes – textiles made from hemp, bamboo, plastic. It mixes the good of the past with the technology of today, while addressing our challenges with waste, pollution and global warming.
Wearing Patriotism: I wear handlooms from different groups and other designers like Rajesh Pratap Singh, Abraham and Thakor. Actually, Dev R Nil’ high neck There are favorites with quirky prints. During Onam, I speak of wearing handlooms from Kerala.
David Abraham of Abraham And Thakur
For the layman, Khadi is largely a concept with layers of meaning relevant to Indian culture and history. Maybe that’s the way it is sold, although I think the cultural narrative should be centered on all handmade Indian clothing.
Rimzim Dadu
I don’t think it’s a competition of one weave or fabric versus the other. Khadi has come a long way and efforts are being made to refine it and make it relevant in the modern world – through Khadi denims and variants that are soft like Mulmul. However, India has such a rich history of textile and craftsmanship, and there is enough room for all of them to flourish.
Patriotic trick: We are the flag bearers of slow, sustainable fashion; Honoring our traditions and re-imagining them in a modern context. In that light, the saree would be an ideal choice – not to promote patriotism, but as a garment that speaks of our tradition, culture and heritage and yet remains so relevant in modern times.
Shreejit Jeevan, stopped
Khadi has a lot to do with memory. Just because we remember it from our textbooks as one of the most admired examples of Mahatma Gandhi, we should not limit him to this. He was trying to do much more – he was trying to say that we should go back to our villages.
Today, Khadi has moved away from its purpose only towards its beauty. Therefore, it is important to delve deeper into why it has become a metaphor for patriotism. Our weaving tradition changes every few hundred kilometers – each one rich and intrinsic to that place. If you lose one, it’s like losing a species. If everyone supports the local, it will nurture a huge amount of skill. And whatever empowers our people is patriotism; Khadi is one of them.
Vivek Karunakaran
We all grew up with the idea that Khadi is directly related to patriotism; That is conditioning. A more relevant way of thinking would be to choose Made in India and Made locally. Then Khadi would be one of the many options.
sBeing in the limelight: We have a lot of crafts and weaves that need attention. i’m attracted Kalamkari, and working on how it can be used as a contemporary wear. Every time I’ve worn something from my menswear line—be it bandhgala, Bundi, trousers, or shirt – It has been observed how the fabric has been used in a contemporary way. But we need more R&D on how to make it more fashion friendly. For example, make it ‘Contourable’.
More vEligibility: Ikat has such a strong aesthetic, and it has the potential to create dimension with its colors and weaves. And kajeevaram, is in Chaathe countryside That it is a saree. But it is one of the strongest weaves of silk [because of its tight construction], and incorporated the culture into the textile!
Kriti Tula, Doodles
Khadi has been a symbol of self-empowerment for India and its communities for decades. We are working with livelihood programs – such as Khaloom in Bengaluru – to make recycled fabrics in handlooms. The need of the hour is to promote the use of what is already there to reduce the impact on our natural resources. We need to popularize recycled yarn made from factory or consumer waste to help India lead the way for sustainable fashion around the world.
Promotion of Khadi: Khadi cotton is a great material for Indian summers and khadi silk works beautifully when you want to dress it up. It’s about making the product more accessible to a wider audience in styles they find easy to wear.
Viraj Khanna, AK-Ok
Everyone has their own way of being a patriot. Taking pride in what is produced in India and taking its ingredients to international platforms is one of the ways that makes me proud of my country. If I had to choose one weave, it would be Khadi [after all, Gandhi started it to promote a self-reliant India]. But like the clothes of Assam and Bengal muga Resham, Baluchari sarees, etc. are other fabrics and weaves that require greater visibility.
Advantage Khadi: The younger generation is more aware of what they eat and the impact it has on the world. The fact that khadi has a zero carbon footprint and requires much less water than mill-manufactured fabric needs to be made aware of.
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