Young Women Designers Give Ikkat twist to Odisha Gamcha
Gunjan Jain textile designer and Anoushka Singh, a NIIFT Graduate (Image credit Bhawna Malik)
Women Power Boost Odisha Garment Arts
By Bhawna Malik
New Delhi, March 8: Famous Odisha garment artworks are finding wider audience with the help of enterprising women. They are connecting the Odisha weavers to markets outside the state.
Gunjan Jain, a textile artist and designer started her own label ‘Vriksh Designs’. In 16 years, her passion remains intact.
Working out from Delhi, Jain works with weavers of Odisha. ‘Vriksh Designs’ collaborates with weavers and master craftsmen. It offers them a platform to market their products.
The thrust is on design development and capacity building. “Weavers are very talented but lack exposure as they live in the interiors of Odisha. I work closely with them and help create clothes and also offer a market to sell,” she added.
The motive is to popularize arts of Odisha and find global market for weavers, she stated. Participating in the ongoing ‘Gamcha Exhibition’, Jain shares that she has worked closely with the ‘Gamcha’ weavers of Odisha to understand the difference in the weave or style that varies in every district or village.
On her interest in garment, Jain said: “I researched and studied ‘Gamcha’ and its roots in Odisha, for at least one and a half years. My aim was to bring out something novel with this garment hence ‘Anga vastra’ was introduced.”
She explained that “it’s dhoti and Gamcha worn by men in Odisha but we converted it into a saree. The intricate temple border requires a lot of skill to give it a proper finish”.
Simultaneously, working on design development with weavers, Jain adds: “We have introduced Gamcha sarees with Ikkat weave which are the speciality of Odisha”. “The lost weaves, embroideries of Odisha must be revived and showcasing their work through these exhibitions is always a welcome move,” Jain added.
Gamcha is more of a culture than just being a garment, she stated. “We confined it to a limited section of the society but the hard work that goes into weaving it remains unnoticed by most of us,” she added.
These exhibitions are an eye opener for textile designers, researchers in the field of weaves and the youth, said Anoushka Singh, a NIIFT graduate.
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