Apparel March 2020 Apparel March 2020 issue | Page 63

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
stores and retail coming to the forefront in 2020
which I appreciate. Reusing and minimalising your
wardrobe with a few thoughtful pieces is being
smart. I hope this awareness comes to people.
TELL US ABOUT THE FABRICS YOU ARE
WORKING ON REVIVING AND HOW YOU
GO ABOUT IT?
We have been consciously working on many
fabrics and are trying to revive Assam textiles
majorly; especially Eri Silk which is found in North
East India. This is a wild silk that is also known as
peace silk. It is vegan, cultivated and handspun
into coarser yarns that makes it durable.
Nowadays, popular machine-made artificial
fabrics are constantly competing with slow
fashion. Natural fabrics are high maintenance and
therefore their production also costs higher. This
is making such material less relevant to current
consumers. We are also working with Muga silk;
also known as golden silk. This silk is produced
only in Assam. Muga is also a wild silk where
the worm mostly feeds on Som trees. Muga
silkworms need more care than any other and
the climatic condition needs to be proper to grow
them. Som farms are called ‘sumoni’. Time and
quality labour make it the most expensive silk and
hence authentic Muga is rare to find. If designers
like us start working on such pure indigenous
“URA MAKU IS NOT JUST A LABEL,
BUT A PART OF A SUSTAINABLE
MOVEMENT TO REVIVE THE
HANDLOOMS OF INDIA. WE
HANDCRAFT RIGHT FROM THE
CULTIVATION TO HAND SPINNING”
crafts, as long as we respect and honour these
crafts, artisans will continue to be empowered.
We are trying to promote them through our
creations by sharing awareness about these
fibres, their properties and significances.
WHAT IS THE USP OF YOUR CLOTHES?
Ura Maku is not just a label, but a part of
sustainable movement to revive handlooms of
India. While our design creations are modern, our
focus is mostly on details. Our clothes are eco-
friendly as all the fibres we use are all organic/
natural. We handcraft right from the cultivation
of fibres to hand spinning, from hand wearing
to tailoring. Our tailored fabrics are high quality
constructions that give attention to detail and all
our fabrics are organically dyed. I tea dye myself
and make sure that each piece is timeless and
not trend/ season driven.
APPAREL
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March 2020
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