inhabitance

A manifestation of the immersive process and world of handloom and weaver’s craft and artist’s identity.

‘Inhabitance’ is a sustainably made collection to bring handweavers to the forefront of design in effort to modernize indigenous textile and design processes. As a storyteller, I have always embraced my outsider status; I am uninhibited by traditional norms and constantly seek new ways to create change. This led me to connect with my Indian roots and travel to rural India to explore heritage textiles in Kullu. At that moment, I realized that, unlike numerous glamorous stories, over the years, India’s crafts economy has slipped through crevices of ignorance and reluctance leaving original inhabitants of the handloom to feel excluded and at a loss. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, power loom and every new weaving machine introduced has set back traditional knowledge even as it improves production efficiency.

How can we, as designers, use our voice to create social change and reintroduce the artisanal craft to contemporary fashion? The minimal, zero-waste design, fluid designs, and vibrant fabrics present a new perspective connecting tradition with modern processes and garments. The experimental interchangeable, sustainably constructed pieces devise a solution to larger design and global issues. The collection challenges the global industry by proposing a sustainable and singular approach to the current social and commercial pattern.

I created this project to explore and deconstruct indigenous craft through the lens of traditional draping and sari silhouettes to rebuild a contemporary take on hand-dyed, handwoven textiles. This was done as my senior year thesis project. This collection is dedicated to all the craftsmen and weavers who feel excluded.

Please scroll below to see the lookbook