My fabric from home

When Akansha Sethi went to her cousin’s wedding she was dressed in material passed down through her family, including textiles once part of her grandmother’s trousseau

“My great grandparents lived in India, in a city called Indore, and we used to visit in the Christmas holidays. I have wonderful memories of their big swing and a sweet dish that would be waiting every time we arrived.

I remember my great grandfather being very frail, but whenever anyone came into the room he’d sit up straight and proud.

That was one thing both him and my grandfather would always say to me, “Sit up straight” – because sometimes I slouch.

There’s lots of material and outfits that have been passed down through the family, too. For my cousin’s wedding, I had my great grandfather’s pink silk brocade jacket – which he wore for his brother’s wedding in 1939 – made into my lehenga (a traditional ankle-length skirt). Having real gold and silver thread, it’s maintained that shine and is incredibly strong. When transforming it into the skirt we had to add extra lining and panels to give it volume and added a border at the bottom to make it the right length.

I’d had the pink silk that I used for the top for years. It has gold wire work called zardosi, a type of embroidery, and we realised that it went well with the skirt. It’d been part of my grandmother’s trousseau, put together by her parents when she got married in 1956. Even though the trousseau included new clothes, there were also lots of materials to play around with. This one never got used – I guess it was meant for me.

It was a beautiful wedding, and it felt very fitting to wear my special outfit there. My grandmother was very happy.

It’s a lovely feeling wearing things passed down through the family. It has a certain charm to it. Rather than saying that I got it from some random designer, it feels nicer to say that, actually, it’s from home.”

“Part of my special outfit was made from silk from my grandmother’s trousseau”