Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | Page 63

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
A DIVE INTO THE COLLECTION
The name of the range itself means ‘new
to the world’. “The kaarigar I worked on the
collection with recommended the name, and I
decided to keep it,” says Anjul. It is the first time
that Japanese beads have been paired with
chikankari, which explains the newness.
She adds, “For this collection, we have
primarily chosen a palette of ivory, grey, green,
and pink—four shades on which we have
embedded multicoloured Japanese beads.
It has taken us eight months of research and
development to match the colours of these beads
with the right pastel colours.”
After Mumbai, the collection will travel to
Ogaan in New Delhi, New York, and Aashni &
Co in London—the four locations where all her
collections are usually shown.
SPEAKING ABOUT CHIKANKARI
The art of chikankari is said to have originated in
Persia, arriving first in West Bengal. The art found
a staunch patron in Noor Jehan, who took it up—
encouraging many others to do so—and hence,
chikankari ultimately found its home in Awadh.
Today, chikankari is Geographical Indiaction (GI)-
tagged by the Government of India, only if it is
done within 200 kilometres of Awadh. Chikankari,
till today, carries a strong Persian influence when
it comes to the motifs such as bootas, flowers,
paisleys, bels, jaals, and ambis.
“Over the decades, the wearability of chikankari
has gained it popularity across the country. Not
CHIKANKARI, TILL TODAY,
CARRIES A STRONG PERSIAN
INFLUENCE WHEN IT COMES
TO THE MOTIFS.
only is it soothing to the eye, but chikankari
on different fabrics such as muslin or chanderi
makes it the most comfortable clothing choice for
a humid country like India,” says Anjul.
“While there were approximately 32 to 39
chikankari stitches originally, quite a few of them
have been lost to time and lack of patronage-
backed practice. In today’s times, we work on
no more than six to eight types of stitches. It
is only in the ektaar method (a stitch that uses
a single thread) that we promise about 16–18
stitches. So in that sense, we have revived a lot of
them,” she informs.
THE EVOLVING PATRON
Today’s buyers have access to a lot of information
online and hence are far more aware. Young
Indians are especially keen to have special
chikankari sets made even for their weddings. A
dressy chikankari has become the outfit of choice
for occasions such as a nikaah, Sufi night or
cocktail party.