Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 60

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
dyeing yarn and hand-weaving the cloth leads to
some amount of variations in the woven cloth.
In the initial year of setting up her label,
Khyati worked with relatively shorter lengths of
fabric made by weavers. It was only once she
established a bond of respect and trust with them
that she gently explained her requirements of
particular stripes, chequers, and colours, which
they gradually took to, thereby weaving larger
quantities. Thus, from creating three to four
collections each year, she now designs larger
collections of up to 25 styles that comprise two
primary collections and one small collection.
because as her mentor had once told her, “The
fabric is the hero of a garment.” With this ethos,
she ensures that the fabric is of high quality, the
surface design is understated and merges with
the fabric, and the overall styling of the piece
blends in with the quiet aesthetic of her brand.
Khyati works with khadi muslin, linen, and khadi
silk made by weavers from West Bengal. She also
employs the use of a coarser variant of khadi from
a weaver cluster in Tamil Nadu. “I work with khadi
muslin with a count of 100S to 150S, as it not
only offers comfort and longevity but also caters
to wider affordances.”
About 90 per cent of the fabric used by Itr is
handwoven, and the remaining 10 per cent is
mill-made. The latter is used for lining or only in
certain sections of a garment. The base fabric
of garments, however, is either 100 per cent
handloomed fabric or a blend.
Over the years, Khyati has realised that there
is only so much control that she can exert over
weave specifications as the very nature of hand-
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I APPAREL I
November 2019
OLD-SCHOOL INSPIRATION
To Khyati, inspiration for designing comes
from life around her and in the form of books
of textiles, costumes, design (in different fields
including architecture and interiors), art, and
much more. Museums, too, are an important
source of inspiration, especially Ahmedabad’s
Calico Museum. In addition, she visits art galleries,
markets, monuments, and different cultural places
to add to her overall perspective and knowledge
of varied fields that, in turn, nourish and fuel her
designing process. During her travels, she also
looks out for new textiles. One of her festive
collections consists of chanderi in a combination of
neutral as well as bright colours.
A SEAMLESS BLEND
While the garment may look quiet at first, a longer
look reveals many elements that have contributed
to its creation. “Often, the fabric decides the
garment’s silhouette. Each garment is crafted
by carefully juxtaposing varied textiles against
techniques to create an eclectic mix of fabrics and
textures that blend in perfectly,” she says.