“He has a strong design vocabulary rooted in Indian crafts and weaving techniques”
WHY Kshitij Jalori, 28, Delhi
One warm afternoon recently, I wandered into Bikaner house to check out the exhibitions. Next to the fine exhibit of the artist, Nilima Sheikh, I stumbled across the extraordinary work of Kshitij Jalori, a young designer from NIFT. Jalori, a graduate of textile design from NIFT, Delhi, was presenting his first collection of fashion garments designed in brocade woven and designed by him in Varanasi.
While the presentation of the exhibition was simple, elegant and effective, it was Jalori’s collection of garments that singled him out as a designer to watch out for. He speaks with a voice that is mature using a sophisticated vocabulary that is strongly rooted in Indian design and craft traditions.
Adding to the rich repertoire of Benaras brocade, his fabric designs are a strong contribution to a textile legacy that is very rich. The complexity of the weaving techniques was explored in patterns that drew on sophisticated florals and geometrics that are simultaneously complex yet restrained in beautiful colour palettes.
Using these fabrics, he has designed a collection of restrained and elegant separates that draw on silhouettes that are eastern in inspiration, yet modern and international in spirit. This is fashion for a discerning and sophisticated woman.
Before presenting this collection, Jalori spent the past few years working with textile and fashion experts such as author and design developer Rta Kapur Chishti and designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. He told me he had also worked with Dastkar, Pero and Fabindia along the way. Currently he balances his design work with his responsibilities in his family’s home wares and crockery business where he lends his creative skills in product development and sourcing for their retail stores, in Rajasthan. He is one designer to look out for.