Young Indian designers are striving to restore traditional heritage by casting hand woven textiles and historic artwork into western silhouettes. Indo- western wear has constantly gravitated various designers to participate in the fusion fever. Here are few designers who have been dedicated in the ‘Slow fashion movement’…

Gaurang Shah, known for revival of Jamdani, a traditional weaving technique continues to bring newness to Indian ensembles. One of his couture collections at summer resort LFW 2015, ‘Kalpavriksha’ corroborated a fusion of Jamdani, intricate embroideries, Phulkari, Chikankari and the traditional artwork ‘Kalamkari’ with anarkalis, sarees and ghaghras.

The designer strives to meet the distinctive style of modern consumers through his innovative creations such as ball gowns made out of kota fabric. He has also put our ‘desi’ fabric khadi to creative usage, producing trendy ensembles in variable colours and patterns. Shah said, “The very important aspect and feature of traditional designs are that they are near natural and you can create stunning floral, temple crafts, birds in the fabric in its natural avatars.”

His latest Summer Resort Collection 2016 at LFW showcased a union of vintage silhouettes with uppada, khadi and kota fabrics, crafted in Jamdani technique. Mostly sarees and floor-sweeping gowns were accompanied by long-sleeve or puff sleeve blouses, recreating the aesthetics of the 1920s Indian royalty in a colour palette of black, grey, dark green, maroon and neutral shades.

Tokree, a designer brand owned by Sanyukta Singh, employs only natural dyes and hand woven textiles in her collection. Hand crafted high- quality range of women’s fusion and ethnic wear dominated the boutique’s range and was followed by a line of men’s accessories such as Block printed ties, Kashmiri scarves and an adorable range of ‘baby clothes’. Mulmul, the Indian muslin has been used profusely along with Chanderi fabric. Inspired by Rajasthan’s rich textile heritage and her association with the ‘Chippa’ community inspires her to develop prints from vegetable and mineral dyes. A segment of their scarves has been woven by Rajasthani Meghal tribe.

Ajrakh that originated from Kutch is a unique technique of resist printing, which is done by using hand carved wooden blocks. Soham Dave, dedicated to create sustainable fashion, sticks to incorporate this block print technique along with hand woven textiles khadi and Chanderi in his collection. Availing biodegradable hand woven textiles like West Bengal’s Khadi, and Madhya Pradesh’s Chanderi, the designer is evoking green products for environment conscious consumers.

Sustainable fashion admirer, Ruchika Sachdeva’s structured minimalist silhouettes that are all engineered in hand woven textiles. khaki, silk, cotton procured by numerous artisans in India are the crucial ingredients of her brand, ‘Bodice’. Collaborating androgynous silhouettes with traditional dyeing processes and printing techniques, the designer aims to achieve aesthetically pleasing, easy-fit garments. Bodice’s collection enables adjustable clothing, providing functionality to the consumers. Her reversible jackets are undeniably functional, serving the wearer a chance to recreate new looks with the same product. Another special feature offered by this designer array is ‘no regular ironing policy, perfectly suitable for working women. With the gradual growth of boutique culture in India, Ruchika remains optimistic about the future of ‘slow fashion’.

Manufacturing garments with minimum usage of electricity and machinery reduces industrial waste and maintains sustainability. Keeping that concept in mind, ‘11.11’ designers Mia Morikawa and Shani Himanshu used organic method to fortify the roots of their brand. ‘khadi denims’, the hand spun denim dyed in natural indigo and processed from 100 per cent khadi has been one of their successful attempts towards eco-friendly creation. Kala, a pure organic cotton, is a viable replacement for synthesized cotton. Continuing with their ever evolving hand-painting artistry, the duo have applied traditional dyeing process ‘bandhani’, clamp-dyeing and block printing for embellishment purposes this season.