It's an Acquired Taste
I know that I cater to a very niche market through Brass Tacks, but sometimes I worry that within that niche my personal favourites probably cater to just a handful. This isn’t to say I don’t like everything I design; it just means that I’m aware of my taste and my tendency to choose fabrics that are not necessarily popular.
I’ve known this for a while, especially with my love for checks and stripes. I have used these fabrics before, but I’m always hesitant and I carefully pick the ones that I think will have universal appeal.
Recently I’ve been feeling a lot more strongly about my passion for traditional checks. Why should I choose only the checks that cater to a wide audience- isn’t part of creating a brand image having a distinct point of view and taking a few risks? A conversation I had with one of my customers the other day made me realize that if I spend too much energy focusing on what will sell really well, I might lose touch with my inspiration, thereby losing the point of view I set out to show. This customer (she’s a textile designer) was there to talk to the host of a show on NDTV-Hindu* about my store, and she told me that while she loves the fact that I use soft, thin cotton that crushes, she probably shouldn’t say that on TV because most people dislike that about cotton. Hearing her say that reminded me of a look that I too love. Sometimes I get so wrapped up trying to change the associations people have of traditional textiles in order to create something that is cosmopolitan, urban and marketable, that I forget (or push aside) what I love. Soft, thin cotton that crushes at your elbows and knees has a certain old world charm to it that I love. It’s natural in a very honest way unlike stiff, starched cotton or poly-cotton blends. Those may not crinkle, but they lack soul.
A huge focus at Brass Tacks is to take handloom fabric, and re-articulate them as modern silhouettes. It’s not enough to think about how a fabric may feel, or how a style may look. The final combination of fabric, silhouette, drape and tailoring forms a product that will trigger certain associations for customers. It’s my personal opinion that there are many women in India who feel that khadi, crushed cotton, and other traditional textiles are frumpy or old-school in a very unfashionable way. Especially when it comes to woven textiles, the traditional checks are not popular because ...well, I really don’t know why. Maybe not enough high-end designers make it look glamorous in the way that they make embroidery and sequins on chiffon silk look glamorous? A lot of textile magazines and books that I read lead me to believe that our traditional checks would be really popular in Europe and the pockets of the US and Japan, and maybe that’s because their associations of that fabric are different.
Recently I went through my mother’s collection of old Kanjeevaram sarees and I’m in love with them. The stripes and checks are amazing; with colour combinations I would never have imagined would look so stunning. I’m determined to use textiles inspired by these designs, but apparently no weaver in Kanjeevaram will weave cotton yardage anymore. That’s not my main problem though: the toughest challenge at hand is to design styles with these textiles, while staying true to the design aesthetic of these stripes and checks. Below are a few photos from my mother’s collection.
*The shoot at my store was for a show on NDTV-Hindu, and will air in about a month. I am so thankful to everyone who came over that day and spent so much time helping out. Really, I was touched to see how many people came and patiently waited for camera time.
I’ve known this for a while, especially with my love for checks and stripes. I have used these fabrics before, but I’m always hesitant and I carefully pick the ones that I think will have universal appeal.
Recently I’ve been feeling a lot more strongly about my passion for traditional checks. Why should I choose only the checks that cater to a wide audience- isn’t part of creating a brand image having a distinct point of view and taking a few risks? A conversation I had with one of my customers the other day made me realize that if I spend too much energy focusing on what will sell really well, I might lose touch with my inspiration, thereby losing the point of view I set out to show. This customer (she’s a textile designer) was there to talk to the host of a show on NDTV-Hindu* about my store, and she told me that while she loves the fact that I use soft, thin cotton that crushes, she probably shouldn’t say that on TV because most people dislike that about cotton. Hearing her say that reminded me of a look that I too love. Sometimes I get so wrapped up trying to change the associations people have of traditional textiles in order to create something that is cosmopolitan, urban and marketable, that I forget (or push aside) what I love. Soft, thin cotton that crushes at your elbows and knees has a certain old world charm to it that I love. It’s natural in a very honest way unlike stiff, starched cotton or poly-cotton blends. Those may not crinkle, but they lack soul.
A huge focus at Brass Tacks is to take handloom fabric, and re-articulate them as modern silhouettes. It’s not enough to think about how a fabric may feel, or how a style may look. The final combination of fabric, silhouette, drape and tailoring forms a product that will trigger certain associations for customers. It’s my personal opinion that there are many women in India who feel that khadi, crushed cotton, and other traditional textiles are frumpy or old-school in a very unfashionable way. Especially when it comes to woven textiles, the traditional checks are not popular because ...well, I really don’t know why. Maybe not enough high-end designers make it look glamorous in the way that they make embroidery and sequins on chiffon silk look glamorous? A lot of textile magazines and books that I read lead me to believe that our traditional checks would be really popular in Europe and the pockets of the US and Japan, and maybe that’s because their associations of that fabric are different.
Recently I went through my mother’s collection of old Kanjeevaram sarees and I’m in love with them. The stripes and checks are amazing; with colour combinations I would never have imagined would look so stunning. I’m determined to use textiles inspired by these designs, but apparently no weaver in Kanjeevaram will weave cotton yardage anymore. That’s not my main problem though: the toughest challenge at hand is to design styles with these textiles, while staying true to the design aesthetic of these stripes and checks. Below are a few photos from my mother’s collection.
*The shoot at my store was for a show on NDTV-Hindu, and will air in about a month. I am so thankful to everyone who came over that day and spent so much time helping out. Really, I was touched to see how many people came and patiently waited for camera time.
Labels: branding, design process, fashion, sarees, textile design, textiles
posted by Anaka at
10:07 PM
16 Comments:
wow! soft thin cotton -- there is a very thin market for this in india with the young ( and most run around for corporate brands) but i love it and search for it high and low here. checks and stripes -- old world -- i love all that - anaka. you are a girl after my heart of love for old world textiles. growing up my mom stitched for me skirts and we had good tailors who would make great blouses. it is luxurious to have soft linen, khadi and cotton on the skin, especially in hot and humid weather. my american counterparts love such cotton but indian friends dispense this off as you rightly put - old world and frumpy.
such clothes come off very well and elegant with right styles ( but i guess the market is fed with silk and other artifical material as glamorous and trendy. i think most people also do not know that good cotton gets softer as it gets old. it is a matter of taste, i guess. your niche market will find you.
I hope you used the TV program to voice your views. Maybe Dastakar Andhra will be willing to weave cotton stripes and checks in dramatic colour combinations of your choice if you order a suitable quantity
Anrosh- thanks for your thoughtful comments. I really think it is a matter of taste for the most part. I don't know why we dismiss traditional fabrics as frumpy. Is it our post-colonial hangover (that we are so accepting of everything that comes from the west, sometimes at the expense of our own culture)? So this is one of the reasons I make really tailored outfits in very modern styles at Brass Tacks- I really want people to start thinking about these fabrics in a different way. For my monsoon collection I'm making a cocktail dress from khadi yardage with jamdani work :)
Embellisher- You are right about using the TV program that way. With articles in the paper, your words are subject to interpretation by journalists, so this was a good opportunity (although I don't know what will get edited out)! Dastkar Andra is very accommodating of my design ideas and they have a lot of checks and stripe designs in their archives. It's just that tweaking those designs a little is sometimes tough because it means a textile designer has to work very closely with the weaver. But in good time, that will happen.
My comment is unrelated to your post. But I had to say this somewhere: yours is a seriously well designed website! My complements to whoever did this. I should know - I do e-commerce sites.
George: Thank you. I did a lot of the design myself, the html was done by someone in Bangalore, and my husband has helped a lot with both the design and the html code (I also get him to update all my collections, and it was his idea to start the recent facebook ads along with the facebook group link on my website). What is your company called, and how did you hear about mine?
Anaka, I must congratulate you and husband then.It is a beautiful site, and clearly a work of love...
Would love to visit your store the next time I am in Chennai.
My company is called Redstart Solutions, and we are in Bangalore. We are at www.redstart.in
If you ever do think of taking your store online, do let me know. It is always fun to work with people with good taste.
I have signed in with my Google account, so you have my email address.
I love hand loom fabrics.
This is a nice website. I love how a lot of your designs are very Indian palette friendly. Also, I like that the model looks like any other girl, not the stick thin models we see on the tv!
Thank you, George, and I have saved your website info. Will definitely let you know when I'm ready for an online store :) (the main thing holding me back is sizing- it's hard for women to figure out their size without actually trying on the clothes).
Hello Shilpa! All my models are actually friends or friends of friends, and none of them model for a living. The model for the summer collection is an architect. And yeah, healthier women with curves are the best kind of models for my brand because they show off the fit of the clothes really well.
Anaka, so so agree with all your observations here, its a piece with much feeling. Most handlooms in the South and Bengal in fact rely heavily on checks and strips and all their elegance and beauty lies in it. As well as the fact that the fabrics get crushed - in fact the crushing adds to the fluid charm of a sari for e.g. I think unfortunately - for want of a better word - a Bollywoodification/Punjabification of fashion has taken place in India which means everything must be heavily sequined, candy coloured and synthetic. To my eye, its such a horrible aesthetic - it really hurts the eye. Maybe one should rely on history - there was the Swadeshi movement of course and when I grew up in the 80s - post the polyester era of the 60s and 70s - ethnic chic was all the rage, it was the beginning of using handlooms for salwars as opposed to linen and saris. These were pretty well represented even in a college like Xavier's in Mumbai where I studied. At some point I am sure people will get over the present flirtation with lycra and bling!! Meanwhile its great if you stick to your guns and spread the word!
I love love love the posted pictures and especially the third one and i feel very bad that i couldn't stop by the store but i am hoping you will have something here before i leave - really! - Hemangini
Very interesting piece.
As a European, I really love the rainbow colours and embroidery and sequins. We love to wear these in our summertime, or in nightclubs. In fact people here will agree to pay much more money for any garment that has a few sequins, or beads, or silver threads !
My Tamil friend however is very sober and likes light colours and discreet stripes that would look perfect in any headoffice.
During my short visits to India, I found it was difficult to find khadi shops, and yet more difficult to find something that I would be happy to buy - except a man shirt for my dad who is past 70, but they didn't have his size.
You talk about the price of manufacturing. I understand your perspective and at the same time I am horrified that highly skilled artisans get such meagre pay for oustanding work. In Europe we have lost many many skills since the beginning of the century because of mechanisation - some skills are maybe lost forever.
I believe khadi cloth, in today's world, is a luxury. Maybe you it would be interesting to reseach along these lines. Homespun cloth, natural dyes in soft shades, appeal here to a certain category of people, the ones we call "bo-bos", rich artisty people who love fashion...
Then I think you should not censor your creativity. You need to earn your living. But somehow, I believe on the long run, it is what comes out of your true passion that will make you succesful...
I wish you much passion and much success!
Anu- we need more people like you and Anrosh around :)
Mangs- You can look forward to my clothes at the Ambara exhibition in Bangalore in the 3rd week of July. I'll keep you posted.
Helene- Thanks for visiting my blog. About sequins: I guess it does have a place. I wouldn't wear an outfit covered with sequins to a club, but I would wear something silk with a bit of sheen on it- and probably not the soft cotton stripes and checks that I showed on the blog. I think the reason why people are more willing to pay for sequins rather than khadi is because to the naked (and untrained) eye, the top with sequins looks like more work has gone into it. In India a lot of women ask me "Do you have any kurtis with work" which translates to "Do you have any kurtis with embroidery or sequins or some embellishment". The kind of labour that goes into making khadi yarn and then weaving it in a pit loom is tremendous, but since the final product is very subtle (and not something you can usually show off at a club or a fancy party), it isn't able to get the kind of wide consumer base that sequins can.
About skilled artisans: my perspective is not that I want to keep the salaries for my staff low. My point was that with these high salaries, it's not possible for me to sell my garments any cheaper. But yes, it is shocking that by and large weavers and other skilled artisans get such low pay. Mechanization combined with poor patronage of their crafts will lead to the loss of those skills. Many weavers or printers I know have kids who work for an IT company or a BPO because those salaries are much higher.
Yes, I understand your point. You have chosen a difficult path. I was thinking there is maybe a short cut to train your customers' eyes and make good money :o)
It always makes me really sad to hear about the hardships of self employed people and craft people. Loss of these skills is a loss to Humanity. But I know it is the result of an absurd World.
(And thank you for your kind comment on my blog !)
These are lovely textiles! I'll be back to read this blog in depth:)
Sharon
Hi Anaka,
Yes I do know about how the sizing could be a problem... but since I moved to the UK, I am figuring out the more standard your sizes get its not that difficult to shop online.. My mum is visiting me here and I have asked her to come and check out your shop to get me some... if you had a size mappping between your size and UK / EUR/ US sizes, it might be a lot easier for me to shop online!
Cheers
Maithreyi
P.S: But I do love your designs, fabric and taste! Will drop by when I come to India..
Maithreyi- what a good idea! I hadn't thought of it before, but when I do my next website revamp I will have a conversion size chart. For your reference however, I took a standard US size chart and subtracted one inch from the shoulder and bust, and added one inch to the hip. If you are a size 6 for tops in the US, then you will be a size 8 at Brass Tacks. If you are a 6 for jeans/trousers in the US, then you are a size 4 at Brass Tacks for trousers/skirts. Hope that helps?
Post a Comment
<< Home