Yet another obstacle for designers
With the lockdown eased and designers resuming their production, there’s yet another major problem haunting them all, that is, manpower. A lot of their tailors and embroiderers who lived in the city have either migrated to their respective villages or in the process of going back and are showing resistance to work. This has led to a manpower crisis, thereby affecting the production.
Designer Anvita Sharma, who owns a label in Delhi’s Shahpur Jat, got a distressing message from her embroiderer when she asked him to resume work. “He wrote a poignant message to me late in the night stating that the last two months had been really disturbing for him and has affected his mental health. His parents have been calling him home as they feel that he would be safe there. I had a few pending orders which I wanted to complete after the ease in lockdown, but it seems things are now going to be even tougher.”
Designer Siddharth Bansal also had to plead his tailors to not go home because without them they won’t be able to start their production. “I requested my tailor not to leave since we were going to start our work soon. But they don’t seem to be willing enough to listen to us and we can’t blame them also for this.”
With almost negligible manpower, it is becoming very difficult for designers to even think of creating something new at this time. “I hope my tailors and workers return by the end of June so that we can restart our work with limited capacity. Things are going to get really tough otherwise,” says designer Nachiket Barve.