RMKV Silks a 30 year old brand has launched hand woven natural dye silk sarees and light weight lino silk sarees for this festive season.
RMKV Silks Launches Hand Woven Natural Dye & Light Weight Silk Sarees This Festive Season
A Korvai Kanjeevaram in mint green (obtained from mulberry leaves) shimmers with lotus motifs in gold zari and is highlighted by a monotone Arakku (Maroon, derived from Indian mad) 11-inch border. Six more sarees crafted in a combination of crimson, red, indigo and pink were unveiled at RMKV Silks on 14 September. What makes this line special is that they are woven in all natural colours. “They are made of natural dye yarn and hand-woven by weavers from Kancheepuram,” says Shankar Kumaraswamy, director of RMKV Silks, founded in 1924.
In widespread use by 1856, the natural dye replaced the synthetic version, which was cheaper and more convenient to use. But the toxic waste from synthetic dyes affects our environment. “We are trying to revive our lost textile tradition and do our bit to protect the planet,” he says.
RMKV Silks has launched the Naturals range of silk sarees hand woven with natural dyed silk yarn. photo credit: special arrangement
natural dye library
A weaving group in Tiruvannamalai district, the R&D wing of RMKV Silks based at Arni has been involved in the development of natural dyes over the last 10 years. “Our 30-member team, which includes weavers, dye makers and textile engineers, was trained ten years ago by an acclaimed painter and vegetable and natural dye specialist Toofan Rafai from Gujarat. This major of natural color came into our R&D at Arani and trained 30 members of our team a decade ago. After many trials and errors, we developed over 60 different shades,” says Shankar.
Founded in 1924 by RMK Vishwanath Pillai in the small business town of Tirunelveli, RMKV is popularly known as Wedding Silk Sarees. The brand’s showrooms are spread across Chennai, Tirunelveli, Coimbatore and Bangalore. Over the past 30 years, RMKV has been a leader in innovations categorized under Design, Color and Fabric. Some of its iconic innovations include hamsa damayanti (hand-woven silk saris inspired by the paintings of artist Raja Ravi Varma), silk saris with 50,000 rare colors and shades, and opulent reversible silk saris.
Lino Light Weight Kanjeevaram Silk Saree | photo credit: special arrangement
The Naturals collection consists of saris in rich red and amber tones which are derived from Manjishtha (Indian madman) and araku (lac), and their combination also gives a deep red color. “Natural dye extraction and preparation is a time-consuming and laborious process,” he explains. For example, indigo dye (used for all shades of blue) blocks take about 40 days to make, which includes 19 days of fermenting the dye in a clay pot.
price points
“Naturally, the cost of manufacturing also goes up, but we have ensured that the burden is not transferred to the customers, and hence we have deliberately fixed the price of our sarees,” says Shankar. Natural ingredients.” The range is priced between ₹15,000 and ₹30,000. Alum stone, fenugreek, turmeric, catechu resin, sappan wood, myrobalan, red clay, pomegranate peel, mulberry leaves and marigold are some of the natural ingredients which are traditionally used to make natural dyes.
“We take note of the feedback we have received. We have a strong R&D team with the help of which we have come up with our second innovation lino silk sarees for this year,” says Pranav Kumaraswamy of RMKV Silks, Lino Silks There are hand-woven kanjeevarams which are 40% lighter.Silk sarees usually weigh a kilogram on an average, but these sarees weigh around 600 grams.
Lino Light Weight Silk Saree | photo credit: special arrangement
lino collection
The sarees on display, done up in gold, dazzling in bold colors and artistic themes and motifs, fall well and are classy. For example, a sunset yellow with a contrasting red border characterizes the Taj Mahal motif. “Lino sarees were made especially for the younger generation, and are hand-woven using various techniques to achieve a light texture and provide breathability,” he says.
RMKV Silks has used two patented technologies to develop lino silk sarees, namely KV Technique (named after K Viswanathan, one of the founders) and Lino Technique. KV technology is applied to achieve interlocking Meenakari effect in the fabric, and the lino technique gives a smoky texture. “The whole process required twisting the thread in a unique way, followed by a complete restructuring of the looms,” says Pranav.
Naturals & Lino Silk range are available across all RMKV Silks showrooms & prices start from here 25,000.