Apparel September 2019 Apparel September 2019 issue | Page 60

@Gauri
DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
A Stitch for a Cause
TATTVa.Puresoul is dedicatedly preserving India’s diverse textile heritage whilst
empowering women weavers along the way. Anurima Das engages Gauri Kumar,
founder, in a detailed conversation.
Designer Gauri Kumar has her roots in the
historic, vibrant city of Lucknow, whose rich and
exquisite costume culture kindled her interest
for textiles. From quite a young age, she was
struck by the beauty of handmade textiles, and
has since worked steadfastly with the same. She
completed her education from Lucknow and
after getting married, travelled extensively across
India; the exposure that she received thereafter,
combined with her keen knack for textiles, forms
the core of TATTVa.Puresoul, her label. She has
also been awarded various awards throughout
her journey, the most recent being the Gurugram
Achievers Award, for her outstanding work
directed towards women and Indian handicrafts.
Read on as we unravel the essence of her
brainchild and all that went into its making.
54
I APPAREL I
September 2019
HOW HAS THE JOURNEY BEEN LIKE,
DEALING WITH HANDMADE WEAVES?
Tattva was a thought, which germinated in me
due to my passion for clothing and an innate
desire to help the society through my limited
means. Working with women was difficult in the
initial days, as their families often discouraged
them from coming out of their houses and
work. Our resolve to make this entrepreneurial
venture a success, and our deep-rooted desire
to positively impact the lives of women and their
families enabled us to sail through these initial
roadblocks. Our designing is centralised but our
production is done across various locations.
Training all our artisans to meet the uniformity
and quality standards we deliver at Tattva was
initially a challenge. The textile market is highly