In this documentary, Shuchi Kothari and Katherine Sender provide a fascinating look at how today’s designers and artisans in India are incorporating traditional handmade textiles in new ways to create consumer fashion wear. Shefalee Vasuclev, a journalist in Delhi, is a principal narrator and discusses the revival of traditional design ideas, combining handcrafted with machine-sewn textiles, and several unique business partnerships and ventures in India.
Traveling to scenic locales such as Chanderi (Ashoknagar District), Jaipur (state of Rajasthan), Bagru (Jaipur District), Noida (Uttar Pradesh), Bhuj (Kutsch District), and Delhi, India, filmmakers showcase many talented artisans at work in their craft.
Sanjay Garb, the designer for Raw Mango in Delhi, creates and markets textiles for both domestic and international markets. In Chanderi, Sanjay Garb works in tandem with handloom weavers to make sarees with different-sized motifs that can be priced for a wide market.
Sanjay Garb is interested in producing functional garments and sees sustainability as only possible by making garments people will want to wear. He employs individuals using 150 looms, and as he points out, each loom is a little different. Artisans and weavers work on their own schedules and sometimes provide suggestions for color.
In Jaipur, Skikha and Rahul Margal are designers from Vrisa. Here artisans achieve the look of handmade embroidery by using sewing machines and skilled staff. The fabric is enclosed in a hoop as with traditional embroidery, but using the Juki sewing machine, the artisan guides the needle to create the pattern with skill and fluidity. Perfect coordination between the eyes and hands produces lovely textiles. Artisans take inspiration from traditional Jamdani sarees.
Washing, dyeing, and printing textiles all take place in Bagru and nearby communities. With precision, a skilled woman imprints lovely designs on fabric using a using a small hand press. This artisan states one has to remain attentive, so the design is uniform. Many meters of fabric are completed each month.
Journalist Vasuclev summarizes the Khadi philosophy which emphasizes that what we consider handmade could be just a button or buttonhole handsewn on a garment. Aneeth Arora, textile and dressmaker at Pero, Delhi, discusses garments she produces that are 80% machine-made and 20% handmade. Aneeth Arora’s team create garments with colorful beadwork and embroidery in Arora’s shop.
In Noida, Rahul Mishra works cooperatively with local artisans. He understands how important it is for the working conditions to suit the people both mentally and physically. Rahul Mishra has designed bandhani collections. With bandhani, artisans first print a design on a textile.
Next, artisans tie knots in the fabric following the pattern to create a lovely puckered look. Throughout this informative documentary, the filmmakers offer a close-up look at today’s textile industry in India and how designers, artisans, and craft workers are sustaining traditional ideas in textiles. Recommended.
What academic library shelves would this title be on?
Threads is suitable for shelving with documentaries, art films, and business (textile industry). Educators at universities and high schools with art and fashion programs should include this educational documentary on their classroom syllabus.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
Threads is suitable for shelving with documentaries, art, sewing, fabric printing, and embroidery.