January 2020 Edition Apparel January 2020 issue | Page 59

DESIGNER SPOTLIGHT
NARRATING STORIES
The chosen paintings fall under three
categories—women, gods and goddesses,
and stories. Each of the paintings was done in
jamdani. When talking about the challenging
aspect of the work, Gaurang says, “Raja Ravi
Varma used only natural colours for his paintings,
in combinations of four primary colours. We
opted to weave our saris with natural dyes to
preserve the ethos. 600 shades and hues of
naturally dyed, textured silk yarns were developed
to lend a 3D effect while recreating the paintings
in jamdani weaves. Junaid Khatri, the master
craftsman from Kutch, with his deep knowledge
of natural dyes, took up this challenge and used
unconventional methods to create colours that
were never applied before.”
For instance, about 10 shades of each colour
were created in white alone. Gaurang states,
“These tonal differences were achieved by the
dye that was used, and the conditions in which
the yarns were dried. If it was summer’s sunlight,
the colours would be bright and shiny, but if
the sunlight was in winter, the shade was more
muted. Some yarns had to be dried in the shade
in order for their colour to be retained. Once
the shade was achieved, it would be treated to
colour-fix it.”
“600 SHADES AND HUES OF
NATURALLY DYED, TEXTURED
SILK YARNS WERE DEVELOPED
TO LEND A 3D EFFECT WHILE
RECREATING THE PAINTINGS
IN JAMDANI WEAVES.”
ART ON FABRIC
Gaurang’s love for recreating art on fabric
dates back by many years, when he recreated
some paintings of Laxman Aelay on saris using
jamdani. It’s then that the seed for the next artistic
endeavour was planted. One of the people
APPAREL
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