THE new sunday express MAGAZINE Voices Devdutt Pattanaik Anuja Chandramouli Dinesh Singh Ravi Shankar Luke Coutinho Mata Amritanandamayi Buffet People Wellness Books Food Art & Culture Entertainment december 7 2025 SUNDAY PAGES 12 Looming Large Textiles have long shaped Indian fashion, but their new, cut-above reinvention is redefining the game entirely >> Designer are turning handwoven textiles like Banarasi, Chanderi, jamdani, kanjivaram, and ikat into contemporary dresses, jackets, co-ords, and red-carpet pieces, making age-old fabrics relevant to younger, global audiences >> They are adopting villages or are working long-term with specific weaving communities (e.g., Kutch, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha), ensuring sustained income, skill preservation, and innovation at source >> Techniques like mashru, himroo, rangkat, telia rumal, ashavali brocade, and Kashmiri kani are being brought back through researchheavy design practices. It often involves reconstructing old looms or decoding forgotten patterns sure when a brand approached them, how much work would a designer give? Will they be abandoned after one season?” she says. Their hesitation was rooted in an old belief that fashion reinvented itself every six months, leaving makers unsure of their place in the process. Reimagining heritage, therefore, began with trust-building. Pero’s collaborations were guided by a clear, unwavering vision: to work closely with India’s craftspeople and bring their skills into new, global conversations. One breakthrough moment came when the brand introduced polka dots across all five artisan clusters it collaborated with. “The craftspeople were hesitant initially They said, ‘If we do polka . dot in ikat, the result won’t be perfect.’ But I told them, ‘It’s the beauty of your technique and it’s okay if it’s not perfect—I want to do it that way That’s when they opened .’ up,” she shares. Years later, the effect is unmistakable. A global client can spot a Pero creation and instantly recognise the craft—be it jamdani, bandhani, or another storied technique. Even when she drew inspiration from the classic angarkha, she reimagined it with irreverent ease—an elegant overlay styled over jeans and a T-shirt. “That’s why even after working with such traditional crafts and ethnic motifs, we could touch the hearts of people overseas. It’s not like we did not respect the origin of the craft; we looked at it from a different lens,” she explains. This philosophy—India at the core, global in its gaze—runs through the country’s rising wave of homegrown labels. They aren’t here to romanticise the past; they’re here to honour it by making it relevant. For many of these designers, the studio is an extension of the workshop; the creative process, an ongoing dialogue. It’s an exchange of intent, technique, and imagination— patching scraps with legacy embroideries, weaving waste yarns into runway-ready fabrics, reinventing what craftsmanship can look like today The result is a new . vocabulary of Indian style—polished, quietly radical, and deeply meaningful. From upcycled scraps to handwoven dreams, India’s new guard of designers is rewriting the language of craft with a glossy , global fluency For Kriti Tula of . Doodlage, the future is pieced together from what the world By embedding itself deeply within artisan communities across the country, Pero has redefined how the world experiences Indian handlooms I By Manish Mishra ndian fashion’s textile movement has deep roots, but its current incarnation is nothing short of a revolution. Once celebrated for their heritage value alone, India’s storied weaves and crafts are now blowing past their traditional boundaries, recut with razor-sharp modernity and a global, contemporary gloss. A wave of boundary-breaking designers is treating textile not as a relic but as a high-octane medium—remixed, re-engineered and re-energised for the world. The result? A fashion landscape where craft isn’t the backdrop anymore; it’s the main act, redesigned with audacity invention and a distinctly Indian cool. , >> Designers are From the outset, the beloved heritage and modernity Arora . combining handloom craft-centric house Pero by Aneeth recalls those early days with fabrics with laser-cutArora has been quietly staging a candour. “This osmosis of skill sets revolution. By embedding itself and ideas is much easier now. Earlier ting, quilting, pleating, deeply within artisan communities one did not understand the fashion new-age embroideries, across the country the label has , cycle and how a traditional craft redefined how the world experiences could be used in a contemporary or 3D textures, making Indian handlooms. Today with , way For many artisans, fashion felt .” traditional textiles shelves in 50 stores across 26 fickle—trend-chasing, fast-moving, countries, Pero’s pieces are immediand unreliable. “There was a time versatile for couture ately identifiable for their blend of when artisans and weavers weren’t and ready-to-wear leaves behind. Known for her zero-waste, upcycled aesthetic, Tula has long championed the idea that sustainability can be striking. “We’ve learned that if you create products that are genuinely useful and beautiful for modern lives, they find an audience anywhere—whether it’s through handloom pieces made from recycled yarn or upcycled fabrics connected to artisan stories,” she says. Tula’s studio is a battleground where every leftover swatch is given a second life. “But even as we focus on making circular fashion more accessible, we try wherever , possible, to incorporate heritage by working with artisans on patchwork, embroidery weaving waste back into , handloom, and exploring natural dyes,” she adds. Designers today are no longer merely exporting craft—they are exporting a point of view. Brands like Eka have quietly and gracefully carved out an international footprint, offering silhouettes and textiles that feel both rooted and refined. For designer Rina Singh, craft isn’t an aesthetic choice—it’s part of her lived world. “I feel I occupy a proud and distinctive space as an Indian designer presenting Indian fashion to the world. It’s a confident space for me, especially when I explore the possibilities of Indian craft,” says Singh. Inspiration flows from her surroundings, shaped by the textures, colours, and rituals of home. “In many ways, it feels like a homecoming. Over time, we’ve found a method within the seeming madness—aligning our craft-driven sensibilities with international seasons, markets, and buyers,” she adds. Craft inclusivity isn’t just an industry buzzword anymore—it has crystallised into a full-fledged movement, redefining the contours of Indian fashion. The space feels freer, more democratic, more beautifully chaotic than ever before. Yet, amid this creative abundance, something subtler is unfolding: a sense that the landscape is, at times, blurring into a gentler, diluted version of the original vision. “The challenge lies in competing with substandard versions of the same processes and products—but that pressure also motivates us to keep elevating the craft,” she says. The fashion scene today speaks with a confident, contemporary cadence—recognisably Indian, yet ambitiously global. After years of “It’s been a journey of constant learning and evolution. Over time, we’ve seen people across cultures respond deeply to the tactile honesty and human touch that handwoven ikat carries.” Vinita Passary, founder, Translate—Ikat India “In many ways, it feels like a homecoming. Over time, we’ve found a method within the seeming madness—aligning our craft-driven sensibilities with international seasons, markets, and buyers.” Rina Singh, designer experimenting with silhouettes, surfaces, and sensibilities, Eka stands on sure footing. Still, the brand refuses to rest on a signature aesthetic. “But simply reproducing the same personality or design ideation won’t carry us forward forever. We must keep pushing boundaries, making the narrative more expressive, lighter, cooler, and endlessly reimagining what craft can become,” avers Singh. Designer Shruti Sancheti—who recently authored Threaded Tales of Vidarbha, a sumptuous ode to her region’s textile heritage—believes the true brilliance lies in balance. Turn to page 2 >> There is a shift towards plant dyes, azo-free techniques, handloom production, and low-waste dyeing, combining heritage with sustainability (Clockwise from left) Eka offers silhouettes that feel both rooted and refined; Doodlage is known for its upcycled aesthetic; Ashdeen Z Lilaowala reimagines the Parsi gara