BACK TO THE ROOTS
Referred to as the “fabric of freedom”, khadi has found a special place on fashion runways. On the eve of Republic Day, HT Café speaks to designers who hold the fabric in high regard
Khadi is not just a fabric, it’s a movement started by [Mahatma] Gandhiji, who sought to make his countrymen independent [from depending on the British for clothing] by making cloth themselves. It was considered a fabric of freedom,” says designer Purvi Doshi. Calling it a “massive craft” that helped create jobs for people, designer Rahul Mishra credits Mahatma Gandhi for introducing the fabric to the people. He believes that khadi is equally significant in today’s times as well.
“Khadi is even more significant today, because of what Gandhiji did for his people. He made people [who were sitting at home] make their own clothes. He asked them to spin the yarn and weave the fabric, and in the process made them independent. Similarly, today, a huge part of the Indian population is unemployed. And one can only be independent, when they are financially independent,” says Mishra.
THE CLASSICIC TWIST
In modern India, ia, the fabric is nott just limited to politicians’ attires. Designers such as Rohit Bal, Ritu Beri, Rajesh Pratap Singh and Nikhil Thampi have used theirr expertise to promote omote the fabric in theireir own fashionable way. While khadi has been as how stopper at various fashion shows, it all comes down to how you present the fabric to your buyers. “Khadi is rich in its texture. It can fit any body type, as it falls [as a silhouette] very well,” says Thampi.
Traditionally, khadi has been used to stitch kurtas, but designers have adapted it for fashionable lehengas and formal suits. “Earlier, khadi was used to make normal dayto-day garments. But it has evolved into a glamourous fabric. Clothes made of khadi are worn by celebrities on red carpets these days,” says Doshi.
Thampi points out that designers need to show diversity on the runway. He loves experimenting with the fabric. “I love using khadi with silk on the runway,” he says.
SIDE EFFECTS
Khadi is expensive, as it’s a handwoven fabric. “Sometimes, it costs up to ` 2,000 to ` 4,000 a metre,” says Mishra. It’s also the oldest Indian textile, and the yarn has to be spun by hand and then woven on the loom. According to Mishra, another fabric called polyvastra is being highly promoted, owing to cost cuts and mass production, but he doesn’t recommend it. He says, “You put polyester in a warp — the threads on a loom over and under which other threads are passed to make cloth — and weave it with khadi. It looks ugly. Thanks to mass production and high competition, khadi is competing with mechanised fabric. We are losing the beauty of the fabric. Machine made fabrics are so densely woven that they start puckering when you insert extra fabric. On the other hand, embroidery fits very well on khadi.”