Our #SouthAsianSartorial campaign kicks off on social media this month, celebrating much that is glorious in South Asian style and statement. Flamboyant, colourful and ornamental, our ‘ethnic’ designs are invariably derived from traditional crafts that are deep, rich and rooted in history.
We are grateful to the scores of visionary designers who, seeing the beauty of myriad threads in myriad forms, help to keep our heritage alive in different geographic zones. Their stories are incredible. Discovering in villages and homes of painful poverty, arcane knowledge that produces works of breathtaking artistry.
Each time we wear what they magically weave or create, we uplift these women, families, communities, helping them and their precious crafts to survive.
Sri Lanka – Beeralu Lace
The Beeralu lace-making tradition of women in the southern areas of Sri Lanka has an interesting 600 year old history. Said to have been introduced by Malays who migrated from southern Indonesia, the intricate and beautiful craft had its golden days during the Portuguese and Dutch periods. Now it is being revived by non-profits, entrepreneurs, and corporations in efforts to empower communities in the aftermath of the tsunami. The craft makes use of bobbins which are expertly and precisely worked, following a graph design, to create exquisite lace filigree. The use of bobbins is what gives the lace its name; in English, it is known as bobbin lace, and in Sinhala it is called beeralu rende. The word beeralu is actually derived from the Portuguese word ‘bilro,’ which means bobbin, while ‘renda’ is the Portuguese word for lace.
https://www.watchinglanka.com/traditional-beeralu-lace/
https://www.ceylondigest.com/traditional-beeralu-lace-a-vital-factor-of-sri-lankan-heritage/
Nepal – Dhaka Weaving
Dhaka fabrics carry Nepal’s unique design signature. Easily identified by dazzling geometric designs woven in cotton and sometimes in silk, Dhaka fabric has been traditionally used to make the Dhaka Topi and cultural dresses. Once woven in remote village homes, with skills being passed down the generations, Dhaka weaving has been encouraged to spread to other centres such as Bhaktapur, as part of earthquake rehabilitation programs. The bold geometric weave generally grows with the weaver’s individual artistic vision, while adhering to informal design traditions. A yard of Dhaka takes as much as 5 days to weave, and no two weaves are exactly the same!
https://asiainch.org/craft/traditional-dhaka-cloth-weaving/
https://thenepalweekly.com/2022/03/01/9714/
https://maeeshat.in/nepal-women-workers-keep-alive-traditional-weaves/
https://english.onlinekhabar.com/major-ethnic-costumes-of-nepal.html
Bangladesh – Jamdani Muslin
The word jamdani itself is poetry (‘jam’ – flower; ‘dani’ – vase) and the handloom muslin woven fabric is no less…floral embroidered motifs on muslin as delicate as woven air. The tradition is about 2000 years old, with weavers passing on their skills and heritage from memory to their children in
almost unbroken continuity. The jamdani craft is highly respected and weavers, dyers, spinners and other supporting craftspeople live in a closely knit community, dedicated to excellence. A single sari can take up to four months to weave; wearing one can be an uplifting experience! Local popularity, designer support and global recognition are ensuring this very exclusive art will live on, at any cost.
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210316-the-legendary-fabric-that-no-one-knows-how-to-make
https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/traditional-art-of-jamdani-weaving-00879
https://bengalmuslin.com/
Afghanistan – Legendary Silk
Once Herat in Afghanistan was an important trading centre along the famous Silk Road that connected China to the West. Today a restoration of its stature is under way as men and women connect with their heritage – cultivating mulberry trees, harvesting silk cocoons, processing, spinning, dyeing and weaving, with legendary skill. The lustrous scarves they produce have colors of the region, derived from local poppy, mint, pomegranate, walnut, madder. Several international agencies and design houses have made it their mission to provide skills, opportunity and financial security to women in a non-controversial way.
https://www.ventoditerra.org/en/vdt_news/how-afghan-silk-scarves-are-produced/
http://raada.org.af/?page_id=8259
https://azezana.net/our-custom-products/
https://www.ishkar.com/
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/silk-making-in-afghanistan/
CELEBRATE SOUTH ASIAN TRADITIONS – WEAR THEM WITH PRIDE!
