Weaver’s touch: The handloom experience

What is the difference between tussar and muga silk? How different are Kutch wool and Himalayan pashmina? As handloom is celebrated more than ever before and moves out of the jholawala zone, with celebrities posing in hand-spun clothing and union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani’s #iwearhandloom Twitter campaign becoming a massive success, those are the questions being asked.

Curiosity over what exactly constitutes handloom is increasing. Fashion houses and designers are trying to increase public knowledge at every given opportunity. Most people are aware of India’s rich textile heritage, but few can identify the numerous weaves in different parts of the country.

In fact, many city-dwellers are divorced from the handloom ‘experience’, resulting in a fabric that is soft, comfortable and durable. This is due to human handling of the yarn in the weaving process. Thus, handwoven cloth is known for its breathability, letting more air penetrate, making it cooler, softer and more absorbent.

The interactive ‘Please Touch! The Handloom Experience’ exhibition held recently in Mumbai by ARTISANS’ in association with the Lakme Fashion Week was aimed at exactly this kind of hands-on experience. It was a chance for visitors to get in ‘direct touch’ with the fibres and fabrics of India. Nestled in the quaint by-lanes of Kala Ghoda, ARTISANS’ showcased a range of handloom fabrics, including the short-staple organic kalah cotton of Kutch, the wild silks tussar, eri and muga of Assam, nettle from the North East and desi wool from Kutch along with Himalayan pashmina.

The ARTISANS’ gallery turned into a perfect handloom museum for the exhibition. Enthusiastic volunteers explained the intricacies of the fabrics to onlookers. The very first lesson on how to identify a true handloom and look out for the imperfections! For instance, the little marks on the edges where the cloth has been fixed on the looms point to the authenticity of the process.

As a viewer, it was interesting to observe the journey of a finished garment from its raw form. Touching a roll of fluffy cotton, then feeling the thread, yarn and cloth swatches was a sensory experience to cherish. The icing on the cake was to see the cloth transformed into a trendy garment.

Handloom is a tool for experimentation. The mixing and matching of different fabrics lends a wonderful symphony to the piece. The play between sheer, opaqueness and transparency helps create different looks.

A series of workshops further highlighted the experience. These included master weaver Chaman Siju demonstrating the art of weaving on the loom and Tasneem Hooseni’s workshop on crochet. Of course, the handloom experience can never be complete without talking about natural colours that hobbyist Anand Bhave touched upon. Artist Smriti Dixit talked about fibre jewellery.

Handloom weaving has been an integral part of our collective ethos since time immemorial. But time has distanced us from the richness of this heritage. Over the years, there has been a huge disconnect with indigenous handloom garments. It helped that the exhibit also addressed misconceptions about handloom, the most common one being they should be cheaper. A mere observation of the effort and process that goes into making handloom fabrics will dispel this myth.

Above all, the experience highlighted the efforts that enterprising Indian designers are making to bridge the gap between the modern consumers and the weavers of these exceptional fabrics.