Apparel November 2019 Apparel November 2019 issue | страница 67

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
indigenous to Assam. In the case of eri silk, the
moth breaks free from the cocoon (by piercing
it) upon reaching maturity. This results in the
breaking of the silk filaments, which means
that there is no reeling involved. However, the
yarn can be spun, and it is slightly thicker and
uneven, which is why it carries a singular charm.
Eri silk is not as shiny as mulberry silk (because
it is not reeled but spun), thus carrying a lovely
matte sheen.
A PROMISING DISCOVERY
Jyoti has been working with traditional Indian
textiles for over 25 years, having started off with a
small home store. “My romance with eri silk was
sparked about 15 years ago. On a cold rainy day,
I was at the Heimtextil trade show in Frankfurt,
in conversation with an Italian textile agent, who
declared, “The world needs intelligent fabrics!”
His remark intrigued Jyoti and the quest for the
‘elusive intelligent fabric’ led her to discover the
beauty of eri silk textiles, which are traditionally
handwoven with hand-spun eri silk yarns by the
indigenous people of Northeast India. She met
textile technologist Dilip Barooah from Guwahati,
who impressed upon her the wonderful attributes
of eri. Realising the potential of eri silk, she,
along with Dilip and a team of textile engineers,
established Fabric Plus (in 2007), a silk yarns
factory near Guwahati.
“The factory was set up with the objectives of
enhancing the productivity of eri silk, improving
its quality and consistency, and creating
employment opportunities for the unemployed
and underemployed women in Assam, particularly
those from the tribal areas. I wanted to offer
this wonderful, high-quality, comfortable, and
environment-friendly choice to the fashion
industry in the form of garments,” she says.
Jyoti’s mission is to scale up the traditional
cottage industry of eri silk—which has inherently
sustainable attributes—to its best commercial
ERI SILK IS NOT AS SHINY AS
MULBERRY SILK (BECAUSE IT IS
NOT REELED BUT SPUN), THUS
CARRYING A LOVELY MATTE SHEEN.
potential, while improving livelihoods, empowering
women, and breathing new life into traditional
weaves through the silk’s unmatched appeal.
“Ereena is the culmination of my years of work in
Indian textiles,” she quips.
Since the establishment of Fabric Plus, Jyoti
has helped pioneer the design, manufacture, and
marketing of premium eri silks and eri-blended
fabrics (eri-cotton, eri-wool, eri-mulberry silk,
APPAREL
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