Some old craft, some new cuttings

Drawing inspiration from the crafts of Kutch, designer Deepika Govind has come up with an eclectic collection which will be showcased at Neel Sutra, her store at Khan Market in New Delhi.

Deepika, who keeps shuttling between Delhi and hometown Bangalore, has been visiting Kutch over the past seven years as she has been curious to get a first hand experience of the rich crafts of the region. It would not be an exaggeration to say that Kutch holds a special place in her heart.

“I have been travelling to Kutch because of its fascinating history of arts and crafts. People from different parts of the globe come to this dry arid region but blessed with such talented weavers, craftsmen and heritage of textiles. These people are so colourful, spirited. In most families there are National Award winners or artisans who need to be promoted. So fashion for me is a tool to help weavers to showcase their outstanding work. “

For this collection she made it a point to stay at Kutch for a fortnight. It was a fruitful stay as she has been able to showcase thousand years old crafts in this collection. In a way, she has acknowledged the extraordinary spirit of weavers of Kutch. It was her fascination for weavers which compelled Deepika, who did Masters in Economics, to travel across the length and breadth of the country to observe how weavers do their intricate work. Her concern for them can be gauged from the fact that she decided to give her ongoing exhibition at Hotel Oberoi in Gurgaon a miss so that she could be with the weavers who had come to work at her store.

Surprisingly, the designer decided to name her collection “Memoirs of a yogi who loved blue”. “There is no particular yogi I am referring to but purely a creature of my imagination. I believe that every collection, even if it not showcased in a fashion show, needs to have a story or social message. I think fashion is a field where creativity sparks and designers come up with ideas, messages. And here the message for generation X is to understand that we have a wealth of talent in our country. Unfortunately, the Indian youth is just not interested in our hand woven garments and intricate designs.”

Elaborating on the collection, Deepika says she has showcased ajarak resistant print technique. “It is 2000-years-old print craft. Every craft we have used in this collection. There is Kutch embroidery, Rabari embroidery and Roghan art. Then I have used all organic indigenous colours, organic cotton and highlighted extraordinary quality of Bandini. My endeavour has been to modernise textiles so that they can appeal to the younger generation.”

Fashion was not Deepika’s first choice; it was civil service. She made an unsuccessful attempt but realised her potential in the competitive and glamorous field of fashion. “Once I met a former fashion professor, who made me understand the relevance of fashion. There is greater freedom and creativity in fashion rather than a nine-to-five job.Read more here:celebrity dresses | formal dresses australia