Simple, yet intricate | Glamorous, but deep-rooted | Internationally viable and culturally-rich | Things you think of when you think of Ritu Kumar.
In a post-independence era, when Fashion
didn’t have the kind of presence that it now
has, Ritu Kumar played a pivotal role in
reviving the Indian crafts and in pioneering the
boutique culture in India!
Recognizing the beauty, importance, and power of artisanal craft and their skills, Ms. Kumar set out on her design journey.
We think we need a big push, a big platform to reach big! But time and again we witness how each one of our idols starts small.
the starting of ritu kumar
After coming across a village called Serampore, on the outskirts of Calcutta. Ritu Kumar started her journey with 2 tables and a block-printing technique.
The village’s home-grown printing technique had been crushed by the British. With a penchant for all things art and history, the craft fascinated and touched a part of Ritu Kumar’s heart. Hence, started the un-planned journey of this marvelous company.
Through the years, Ritu Kumar has 3 brands, offering bridal, contemporary, and western designs respectively.
Yarns or filaments extracted from natural or synthetic elements are interlaced together, which is called weaving.
The most relatable form of weaving one could visualize is that of a manji. The net is weaved in a plain weave which is one of the three basic weaves.
Similarly, fine yarns are weaved on a loom. Two types of yarns are used. Warp is the vertical thread which is fixed on the loom. The weft is the horizontal thread that is weaved across the warp thread with the help of a shuttle.
There are three basic weaves, plain, satin and twill weave. And here we thought that satin was a fabric!
Plain Weave
Plain is the simplest of the weaves. It is also called Tabby weave, a criss-cross weave where the horizontal(weft) yarn goes over and then under the vertical(warp) yarn, just like in a manji.
If the fabric isn’t printed or has no surface finish, then it has no right or wrong side. They have less absorbency in comparison to other weaves and wrinkle easily.
There are multiple variables available in context to the yarns used, their size, texture, treatment, and of course color. You could find them in poplin, georgette, cotton, polyester, poly crepe, cambric, muslin, and canvas.
Twill weave goes diagonally. It is weaved in the manner that one weft thread (horizontal thread) goes over two warp threads (vertical threads) and then under one warp.
Twill weave is expressed in fractions to explain how they are woven, 2/1, 3/1, 2/2, etc.
Tweed, herringbone also called broken-twill weave, cotton twill, silk twill, linen twill, polyester twill, etc. are available in a twill weave.
The third basic weave is the satin weave. This is weaved with three or more wefts over one warp or the other way around, one weft over three or more warp threads.
Satin is known for its soft, lustrousness. It is characterized by a soft side and the other harsh side. It can be found as cotton satin, viscose satin, silk satin, organza satin, poly satin whose feel, look, drape differ accordingly.
Always the mindful designer, Anita Dongre has bowled us over again with another one of her brands and its philosophy, Grassroot!
As a designer, the main task is to incorporate the essence of originality, a thought with consumer needs, and the product’s feasibility. This simple little sentence, in reality, is a tactful feet to achieve.
And the designer, Anita Dongre, has always delivered it perfectly!
Grassroot, as the name suggests, stems from the roots of Indian heritage. It works with the villages of India. This helps in reviving textile crafts and empowers economically the rural artisans.
The socially responsible and environmentally ethical brand does a marvelous job in reviving age-old crafts like –
These crafts are added onto contemporary designs keeping sell-ability in mind. Since this artistry takes time to produce, the manufacturing of these garments is not done seasonally. Every piece takes its own sweet time and care. Sometimes a piece takes 2-3 months to complete.
Thoughtfully structured, Grassroot associated with SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) and got further linked with artisans from various villages who expertise in their traditional crafts. This helps in bringing work back to villages and helps to keep their craft alive.
Anita Dongre, an Indian Fashion designer and the creative director and owner of House of Anita Dongre caters to a vast market with a vision that runs deep with principles and a responsible outlook towards the market and the work unit.
Catering to an expansive market, fabulously with contemporary affordable fashion. Grassroot, Anita Dongre’s third brand was launched in 2015. Form-functional, economically viable, culturally-rich clothes are crafted for women who are fashion conscious and advocate slow fashion.
The price ranges between somewhat Rs.5,000 to Rs.40,000, depending on the work, time, and effort it took to produce that garment.
Sustainability being the need of the hour, Anita Dongre and Grassroot are an inspiration for consumers and also designers, manufacturers, and merchandisers in choosing sustainable fabrics like linen, and opting for culturally-rich crafts like Ajrakh and tie-dyes for a beautiful and better tomorrow!
That’s what we believe in, what do you believe?! Tell us in the comments below.
Ikat is a confusion known to many, well, let us help you walk through it.
Tie-dye is a type of fabric printing technique. The fabric is twisted and tied in a manner that the dye doesn’t seep in where the fabric is dyed. Tied with a special tie-dye thread, the colour doesn’t seep in through the knots and creates a unique pattern every time.
Now that is tying and dyeing of fabric. Ikat is a tie-dye technique for yarns. The basic unit of fabric, yarn, is tied and dyed according to the design provided.
To weave a fabric, two yarns are interlaced at a 90-degree angle. One of the yarns, called warp yarn is fixed on the loom longitudinally and the other yarn, which is the weft yarn, is weaved across the loom with a shuttle.
This is called Ikat- the tying and dying of yarns before weaving them.
There is Single Ikat and Double Ikat. Single Ikat is when either of the yarns is tied and dyed, Weft Ikat or Warp Ikat.
Weft Ikat is when the weft yarn (horizontal) is tied and dyed according to the design and the warp yarn (vertical) is dyed a plain color
When warp (vertical) yarn is tied and dyed, it is fixed on the loom and then the warp yarn is weaved through it on the loom.
This way, the artisan can see the design straight in front of him.
In Warp Ikat, the design emerges as the weaving moves forward. The artisan weaving such designs are highly skilled and patient. Kudos to their creativity and caliber!
Double Ikat is when both warp and weft are tied and dyed. Here the difficulty level magnifies and precision is even more difficult, but the artisans always deliver the desirable.
Double Ikat is rarer and can be found only in 3 countries, India, Japan, and Indonesia.
Since the design is created on the yarn itself, both sides of the fabric come out printed and there’s no right side to the Ikat fabric.
The difficulty in the precision of the design makes it come out as blurry which is considered one of its identifiable qualities and is prized by textile collectors and consumers.
Giving the wearer a flair of authenticity and originality, Ikat has placed itself in the hearts of many.
Though it is very famous in India, Ikat does not have an Indian origin. Nobody knows where it originated since its history is spread out far and wide through the globe. The techniques history can be found across the plains of Central Asia, India, Africa, Latin America, etc.
Ikat has been a part of India as far back as the 7th Century. It could be seen in the murals of Ajanta and Ellora. Whereas it was brought to us through the trade ties with China and Indonesia in ancient times. It developed as a major textile art mainly in 3 regions – Andhra Pradesh/Telangana, Gujarat, and Orissa.
Given the cultural impact every place has on its art, Ikat created its own distinct identity of patterns and dyeing. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana offer us their Telia Rumal and Pochampally Ikat. Puttapaka sarees, a Telanagana textile delicacy, is a warp Ikat, majorly sold under the popular name of Pochampallis.
Since Ikat is a technique, all sorts of yarns are used, though cotton and silk remain the most common ones.
Ikat is a traditional, handloom, made in India, sophisticated fabric that helps you enrich your closet and style statement.
Wanna take a look through our Ikat collections? Give it a shot and let us know what you think!
When we started looking at Anita Dongre’s work, we simply couldn’t stop! As we saw AND catering urban formal wear for the Indian women, we were EAGER to know what’s more in the store.
We jumped onto her next brand Global Desi which was launched in 2007 and its first outlet was set-up in Mauritius, in 2008.
This brand was inspired by the designers’ college days and hence delivered boho-chic wear for women, the kind of garments she used to wear in her college days.
From Global Desi website
Dongre raised in Mumbai by her parents, used to visit her grandparents in Jaipur, Rajasthan. She fell in love with Jaipur’s colors, liveliness, and vibrant culture and her love poured out into her brands. Her brand Global Desi identifies and is inspired by Indian folklore and takes desi to a global level!
The prints, colors, and stories behind their collections are desi whereas the silhouettes are western, bringing in the Indo-western wear. The brand targets women between ages 18 to 35, who have a knack for Indian prints nationally, as well as globally.
Comfort, functionality, and style stand under the roof of the House of Anita Dongre. Whereas Global Desi adds its leaf of boho-chic wear for women. GD offers pieces of similar design with varying sleeve lengths and hemlines for consumers who do not choose bold strappy tops.
Anita Dongre’s vision of creating affordable designer wear stands through Global Desi too. The price range here is between Rs.1,000 to Rs.6,000, not taking into account the End of Season Sales which drops the prices 50-70%.
Global Desi’s spring/summer 2020 collection, named JALSA – which means celebration – celebrates sisterhood. Making coming back to a place that feels like home and of memories no less than a sweet celebration.
Comfort, class, chic-i-ness are all felt through the collection’s designs and visuals. The color palette chosen gives the wearer a comfortable, soothing, lively vibe to them enhanced by the free flowy silhouettes used.
From Global Desi Website
This sage green Gharara-style jumpsuit gives the wearer a fun, fancy, comfortable feel with the additional V-neckline, making it alluring with the fit and flare silhouette.
From Global Desi Website
From Global Desi Website
For somebody who doesn’t want to pick the strappy shouldered jumpsuit can choose to pick this half-sleeve V-neck blue Gharara Jumpsuit. Another similar thoughtful option for the Indian wearer.
From Global Desi Website
This mustard, white floral printed, gathered tiers Midi, which makes it a cool blend of style, comfort, and design.
From Global Desi Website
The light blue, printed Gharara set with a keyhole neckline and broad shoulder straps talks of comfort, breeziness, beauty, and elegance. Who said fashion has to be uncomfortable, we’d rather pick this.
From Global Desi Website
The Teal color chosen for the jumpsuit calls out the fun, bold, energetic side of the woman in you. Where the sleeveless, fit and flare silhouette makes it chic, the embroidery gives it an Indian touch.
Anita Dongre’s designs never leave you feeling ‘I’m not so sure..’, they’re more like ‘YEAHH! That’s what I wanted! The soothing feeling of finding the right dress *satisfied sighs*.
Did we tell you that Global Desi care has set up Community Tailoring Units in rural Maharashtra, where women in need are trained professionally to make garments? Well, now you know.
From TCT Branding
It’s just, responsible fashion – check Economic and Social Responsibility – check
Comfort and broken stereotypes – check
Desi – check
Makes you cry happy tears, doesn’t it?
We hope the insight was helpful, inspiring and informative. Tell us what you think in the comments below.
what is lurex?
A company named Lurex introduced and trademarked a metallic yarn in 1946. The shimmery yarn famously came to be known by the company’s name- lurex.
Moss Crepe Lurex
what is it made of?
The yarn is made up of thin aluminum strips, wrapped around layers of plastic films. This wrap-up makes the yarn stronger and also helps in retaining the glitter of the metal. In comparison to the kind of metal-like yarns constructed before, lurex came out to be soft and easy to handle. Given its softness and construction, weaving lurex is easier while keeping its charm intact.
KINDS OF LUREX AVAILABLE –
Since it’s a yarn, it can be weaved with many variables. Be it an addition to the shimmer of silk or cotton, it can be weaved with all kinds of yarns.
Namely Rayon Lurex, Cotton Lurex, Silk Lurex, Polyester Lurex, it is available in all sorts of qualities.
Rayon Lurex Fabric
metallic fabrics and their journey
Metallic fabrics have been around since as early as the 12th century. They were initially made up of thin strips of gold or silver, wrapped around cotton or silk yarns. This made the product expensive and took great craftsmanship which made it a symbol of wealth, power, and luxury.
Since they were metallic strips, they came with their specific shortcomings. The ribbon-like cross-sectional weave of Gold and Silver had a cutting edge which left the fabric with a harsh, rough feel to it. Apart from gold, other metallic strips get tarnished and lose it’s shine with time while also being inflexible and stiff.
Being around for a long time, metallic yarns have been used comprehensively for their decorative purpose and have been enhanced over the years. Hence, yarns like Lurex were formed and a new idea to the look of the fabric had been introduced.
Poly Chiffon Lurex Fabric
The company’s two slogans being
“Yarns for designers” and “Adds a new
brilliance to Fashion” fit perfectly to
the personality of Lurex.
How about you check out our collection and tell us what your interaction with lurex has been like? We await your responses!
Charu creation offers you the best clothing material available in the fabric market. Fabrics and designers are like two sides of the same coin. One doesn’t go without the other.
Like every fabric going through its journey from fibre to yarn to cloth, every design and every designer has its journey of blooming. Curious? Let’s dive in!
We delved into the coming through of one of the top Indian designers, Anita Dongre, the woman who gracefully broke a lot of glass ceilings and shrugged off stereotypes with sheer hard work and determination.
AND, formerly known as AND India Designs Limited, was her first brand, launched in 1998. Since then, she has launched four other Indian brands.
Safe to say there was no looking back for her from there on!
Born in a conservative Sindhi family and the eldest amongst six siblings, Dongre has been a strong pillar from a young age. She was the first woman in her extended family of 50 cousins to have started working and look how she aced it!
She didn’t just go off alone towards success. Her vision and ambition were backed by her younger sister Meena Sehra, currently the Product Head of HOAD (House of Anita Dongre), who oversees buying, innovation, and merchandising.
The brother Mukesh Salwani, on the other hand, is the Managing director of HOAD.
Dongre graduated with a B.com degree from Narsee Monjee and then from SNDT University with a Fashion Design degree from Mumbai.
She started humbly in the suburban area of Navi Mumbai with her sister and two sets of sewing machines and endless perseverance. Her venture started by supplying garments to stores where the first celebrity to buy her pieces was Dimple Kapadia, who took three cotton shift dresses designed by her.
Like every other entrepreneur, the first few years of her journey were bumpy and filled with multiple roadblocks. A shortage of income initially lead to no money for rent, which sometimes got her evicted and made her shift frequently. Hurdles being hurdles, the entrepreneur came through.
Indian Fashion Market didn’t have many contemporary options for the urban woman back in the day. Looking at the opportunity in front of her, Dongre curated a collection for the same and sent it out to stores.
When nobody believed in her vision and rejected her collection, she started off her brand in defiance and belief in herself.
There we have it, India’s first urban wear clothing brand for women.
Design in its original and most basic sense means a solution to a problem. The need for being clothed is solved by fashion.
Certain designer’s artistic endeavors forgo the comfort and wearability component of the garment. Their focus sometimes more and sometimes solely is on the aesthetic components of the garment. You wouldn’t see that in an Anita Dongre design, it’s a perfectly balanced blend of wearability and aesthetic.
Functionality always remains the key element with aesthetic given its due importance and presence. Quoting Dongre herself, “Design is about wearability and not just about the beautiful bodies on ramp”.
True to her words, she has curated AND around the concepts of comfort, luxury, elegance, and yet simply everyday looks.
With dresses, shirts, gowns, pants, tunics, jumpsuits and much more, AND caters to the urban women with mid-premium, contemporary, global designs with a price range of Rs. 1500 to Rs. 5000 which could drop by Rs.400 or Rs.800 at the End of Season Sales.
Anita Dongre is a name known internationally for her designs and good branding. AND’s USP of affordable fashion has stayed consistent with changing times and trends. In the spring-summer 2020 look book, the designs are created keeping comfort in mind.
Below, you’ll observe that AND is especially fond of waist ties. I believe it gives everybody room to breathe in, move around, and yet keep it chic.
In the above ensemble, the 3/4th sleeve length finished with a band at the end and the shirt- collar give it a formal look while the tie-up detail at the waistline makes gracefully hugs the body.
It takes your wardrobe a notch up on the style quotient while not over-doing it.
This design gives it a very earthly and calm
vibe, given the color chosen and the simple
design of a brown, sleeveless, cropped top with
thick shoulders, completing the look with a
wrap skirt.
This gorgeous floral jumpsuit offers the wearer
comfort and makes it easy to move around
while leaving an impression. The waist tie
accentuating the feminine body seals the deal
of comfort and fashion making it a good-to-go
Sunday brunch outfit.
Knots
Collars – be it a round, johnny or a shirt collar
Comfortable fit.
Practical
Aesthetics
Designer Label
AND checks all the right boxes for a thoughtful and comfortable investment.
