Following the footsteps of Autumn/Winter 2013, folk and tribal embroideries have again emerged in the collections of designers and exporters in 2015. Giving a modern interpretation to folklore and traditional patterns, a cultural tribal influence is evident to have made a comeback this Fall, flowing into the upcoming summer as well. Similar to the last year’s tribal prints rage, folklore embroideries this season are closer to tribal influences, like the ones seen in the collections of Pia Pauro, Lanvin and Dsquared2 with embroidered shapes emerging from folk art stories. Be it surface decoration of fabric with ornamental threads or creating intricate decorative elements bringing out cultural essence, folk embroidery was, is and will be a favourite technique for the designers, exporters and wearers for S/S 2016…
Taking inspiration from age-old embroidery and value addition techniques, the look that dominated the catwalks this fall, was of a modern tribalism derived from geometric lines, raffia, plastic, eel skin, anaconda leather, materials that were juxtaposed, colour-blocked graphics and animal prints in numeral hues. Taking a break from last season’s all print interpretations, tribal and folk embroideries have adorned Indian and international runways. Other techniques that fit perfectly to derive ethnic looks are tie&dye, ombre dyeing in zigzag patterns, and ikat motifs imitated in prints, keeping the colour palette highly traditional with indigo, other colours in warmer hues, and accent colours to add a touch of brightness.
“Moving for some time now, we can’t really say that folklore embroidery and prints are new, but taking a break from last season’s abstract and geometric interpretations, for the coming seasons we are printing folksy prints, making the trend economically viable and more feasible for both the exporter and the buyer,” says K. Harini, Designer, Shahi Exports Pvt. Ltd. Closest to the strengths of India, designers are experimenting with diverse embroideries, using vibrant colours and rich prints to bring out the flavour of craft.
Amazon India Fashion Week’s Fall ’15/16 runways witnessed numerous designers with folk and tribal embroideries as their inspirations. Ace designers like Anupama Dayal, Gaurav Gupta, Pankaj and Nidhi featured their Autumn/Winter collections, where Indian techniques like Ikat and Kantha were combined with inspirations from Russia and Central Asia to create fusion. Inspired by Navajo, Pia Pauro’s collection was rural yet contemporary and stylish. Embroideries inspired by appliqués in horse motifs and tipis, the prints used were mimicking the traditional embroidery motifs on dresses, blouses and saris, completed with giant head gears. On the other hand, designer duo Hemant and Nandita’s collection was inspired by Kashmir’s handicrafts involving its intricate embroideries, clustering floral thread work and swirling ethnic prints.
Weather done for the runway or retail segment, folk embroideries always manage to present splurge-worthy pieces with super stylish and graceful quotient. Now seen to be revisiting the past explorations, patching is now being carried out in the traditional folk-oriented way. Appliqué over the years has gone through a round of modifications but now replicating the conventional; patches of plain or printed fabrics are sewn on the top of base fabrics and are highlighted with thread embroidery like the kantha stitch and phulkari.
Working on the similar lines, Rajeev Sujanti, MD, Chunnu Cloth & Craft said, “We are doing appliqué by both hand and machine. By hand we are doing a lot of appliqué in Barmeri prints. We are highlighting the appliqués with mirror work and kantha stitches. We are not doing much of patchworks this time, as our patchwork is mostly hand stitched, and hand stitched products sell on higher rates therefore only products like jackets are being produced in Barmeri prints in patchwork.” Corroborating with the statement, Prahlad Ray Chippa, Proprietor, Prabha Handicrafts said, “Traditional patchwork is our strength. The prints are mostly an amalgamation of block and screen. We are doing a range of prints in paisleys, florals, tribal patterns, etc. and garnish them with hand chain stitch to give an ornate finishing touch.”
Forming the perfect example of the geometric designs, the Mexican symbols made by knitting and embroidery on the clothes like simple triangles, rectangles, rhombuses, zigzag lines, stepped borders, helical patterns, and crosses – go in line with the most talked about trend of geometric inspired tribal patterns along with the archetypical paisleys and florals.
Developing the folklore theme, both for A/W 2015 and S/S 2016, exporters claims that the trend is a hit, as on one hand where the American buyers have come back with queries for distorted paisleys that are most likely to be the next popular motif once again, the European buyers now becoming more culturally global, are expanding into the developing countries and are therefore looking out for geometrical interpretations. “The trend in S/S ’16 seems to be very confusing therefore we are producing everything right now. Our USP is white, so keeping that constant we are playing with techniques as much as we can. We do overdye, thread embroidery and fabric manipulation inspired from the ethnic groups. We are making beachwear like, shorts, kaftans, trousers, depicting the bohemian theme,” shares, Sharad Kapoor, Director, MLK Exports.
Picking up the beautiful surface adorning techniques residing in the heart of crafts, some exporters have made craft-based collection development their USP. And one such company is the Tushar Group. Currently working with a diverse variety of 12 brands under the same roof, the company believes in innovating within the handicraft parameters and do good for the artisans. “Each country has a different taste, so we try and position our brands in 12 different directions. The brand identity and conceptualization differs in each brand. Like, the cycle range is more French-oriented, the tuk-tuk range is more Japanese, and then if you see scooter, the fabrics, silhouettes and designs are mainly targeting the US customers. As we are a handicraft-based company we try and incorporate techniques with a contemporary version every time we make a new design, as at the end of the day I have to get jobs for my people. We are doing many kinds of washes in a particular fabric. We don’t use plain printed fabrics, we try and mix it with washing and hand embroidery. We do a mixture of technique to give a unique look,” informs Tushar, Head Designer of the company.
