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Mission Ahmedabad

Photo G. Krishnaswamy

Go ethnic Textile designer Romanie Jaitley

Amidst the celeb designers, who regularly hit the ramps of fashion weeks, Romani Jaitley is the odd one out. She wants to create ‘Indian’ clothes that would make heads turn. With her heart fixed on the magic of warp and weft, this textile designer from Ahmedabad is now on a mission. “To help youngsters understand that, it’s time for old and the beautiful and that one can look fashionable even with Indian creations,” she says. The designer was in the city to hold sessions with the students of Lakhotia Institute of Art and Design to bring an awareness on conservation of our timeless fabrics and crafts and create a new fashion wave.

“Change is inevitable and necessary for fashion too. But, one need not chuck tradition for the sake of modernity. It is possible to blend young ideas with timeless fabrics and create a new design,” she says and adds, “Kalamkari has pictures of gods and goddesses printed on it. These images could be changed to suit the modern tastes and the end result would be nothing less than glamorous.”

Romani’s love for textiles has also resulted in a book titled Tana Bana, where she has documented 20 handcrafted and hand-woven textiles of India. From Jamewar of Kashmir and block printing of Gujarat to Luckwnawi chikan and our own ikkat get a special mention here. “The thriving communities of craftsmen vary from state to state. What is interesting to note is that the spinning mills have closed down but crafts have survived despite the onslaught of technology,” she says.

Documenting for the book has been an exhaustive affair. Reading books and travelling extensively not only helped her in the research but left her with some fascinating experiences. “In Sambalpur, for example, ikkat has been developed as a functional fabric. Villagers weave ikkat and wear it too. Even in colleges and government offices, ikkat wearing is compulsory at least on one day. This is a new way of patronising the craft and helping it to flourish. Even Andhra Pradesh can make ikkat compulsory in schools and colleges and give the yarn a new lease of life,” she says.

Among the historical weaves which has cast a spell on her is the fabric of the 16th century. Says she, “The local craftsman, who have never gone abroad used to create printed and painted fabrics for the European market, which were a big hit. Fashion is all about making the tradition contemporary.”

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