Fine textiles displayed at Sarang, a summer-themed exhibition organised by Crafts Council of Tamil Nadu
| Photo Credit: PERIASAMY M
A collection of conscious and sustainable fashion forms a major part of the show. One can shop for silver kasavu saris at Ela India ( ela means leaf in Malayalam), a brand from Kerala that sources from weavers and weaver collectives across the country and works out of a design space at Palakkad. There is home decor with furnishings like woven curtains featuring tassles, tote bags with quintessential Kerala motifs and more. “We work only with handlooms, be it with linen fabric from Bihar or tops featuring handmade Jaipur block prints,” explains Bindu Nair, creative director.
Swathi Raj from Bengaluru-based The Summer House give a contemporary twist to traditional crafts, for example grandma’s embroidery designs or hand marble paint designs, to bring in a vintage vibe to her collection featuring khadi, jamdhanis, cottons and linens. “There is demand for affordable cottons in Coimbatore and we are here to explore the space.”
Jewellery displayed at Sarang
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M
Participants also include Urvashi Kaur from Delhi, an inclusive clothing brand that builds on conscious luxury with the focus on artisanal work in its range of anarkalis, dash blazers, and lehengas in chanderi with zari work and more. For those looking for handcrafted chikankari embroidery in georgette, silk, chiffon and cotton, Mita Dass, a textile designer from the National Institute of Design in Ahmedabad and her daughter Rohina bring elegant saris that speak of artistic finesse of an erstwhile Mughal era of Awadh. “ We try fusion with fabrics, linen and tussar or organic khadi to name a few,” says Mita adding that some of the saris take six months for completion. “ My forte is colours. We have an entire range of saris in pastel shades featuring chikankari in natural-dyed threads.”
Beej and Co from Shantiniketan bring a collection of eco-prints on stoles, cord sets, mulberry and tussar sarees, kaftans, and hemp shirts in men’s wear. “We roll fresh flowers and leaves on fabric to extract the colours and natural prints and the results are always stunning,” says Bijoya Halder as she spreads a mulberry stoles on the table to showcase the teak leaf design imprints.
Textiles and apparels displayed at Sarang
| Photo Credit:
PERIASAMY M
While there, also check out the stall featuring The Timbaktu Collective from Andhra Pradesh. You can buy from running material, children wear and sarees in ponduru cotton, hand spun and hand woven by weavers, and dyed in natural colours drawn from nutmeg leaves, and other roots, and flowers. Also, a range of cookies and savouries made using millets.
As you shop, you can also indulge in gourmet food at the food court from Soklet’s artisanal pastries, and Kongu food including thokkus, and podi idlis at Corner Kitchen, to vegetarian sushi platter, and native snacks form Jeev Goodies.