Jamdani: deadstock to dresses

Revival isn’t new for this fabric. Now an upcycled collection is bringing eyeballs back to the intricate weave

In the book, Woven Wonders of the Deccan, author-researcher Moin Qazi describes the hallmarks of muslin, a cloth so delicate that poets of the Mughal durbars romanticised it with names such as baft hawa (woven air), abe rawan (running water), and shabnam (morning dew). Of these, the Dhaka muslin — from which jamdani originated — is considered the finest. Requiring immense skill and intensive labour (as the designs are created on the loom), UNESCO declared the fabric an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ in 2013. Yet, in a world of fast fashion, jamdani is going the way of many other heritage weaves — in danger of becoming a dying art. The pandemic has only added to its woes. Every so often, however, it gets an infusion of new life. Last year, Kolkata-based designer Kavya Singh Kundu saw first-hand what weavers in Phulia, West Bengal, were going through. She also discovered their pile of deadstock. “Many of them export their work. And when they make commissioned designs, they often create additional pieces to experiment with colour combinations or designs,” she says, adding that she got in touch with them “to understand their creative process, and fell in love with the craft”. Her new collection, Tale as Old as Time — launched a few weeks ago, it’s also her first time working with jamdani — is an upcycled one. Using saris, stoles and scarves from the weavers’ cast-offs, she found creative ways to work around imperfections, mixing and matching bits to allow the motifs to take centre stage. Kundu says her collection is a “love letter to Bengal”, a natural progression from being surrounded by her grandmother’s stunning jamdani saris while growing up. “Working with these weavers is my way of giving back in terms of design,” she adds.