The Yarn Story

A slew of homegrown labels are making a case for why knitwear could be a year-round choice.

- BARRY RODGERS

There's a common image of older women in India knitting sweaters for their families as winter approaches. But if we look back, knitting has a longer history in our country. It goes back to the time of the Mughal Empire from the 16th to the 19th century and was famous for its luxurious fabrics. Knitting was one of the many needlework skills brought to India during this period. It became popular among the rich and royal.They made fancy clothes using fine silk or wool yarns, often decorated with gold and silver threads, showing off their wealth and status. Today, a new crew of homegrown labels gives the form a contemporary spin. Meghana Kiran's knitwear-centred menswear label, bitchandtwosticks, is a testament to the fun one can have with the method. Introduced to knitwear by her grandmother, she learned to see the beauty in simple techniques. "Knitwear doesn't have to be an elaborate scheme of complicated techniques; it can be as simple as colour blocking. For example, our knitted wonder suit is the simplest technique in knitwear; all I did was patch them together and sew them. I don't rely too much on the techniques of it but I try to make it as simple as possible. We use a lot of jacquards, colour work, and basic purl stitches for the knitwear itself," says Meghana, who holds a BA in menswear from Istituto Marangoni in Florence and subsequently saw her work on projects for luxury fashion houses, including Fendi and Miu Miu.

Although she says she's "quite moody with the brand," the response has been overwhelming. "I do think knitwear is evolving; there are so many people using it as a medium to convey or channel their artistic ambitions; it's a new or a rediscovered way of making clothes, but clothes are not the only thing you can do with knitwear. I am always so inspired looking at artists who use knitwear," says Kiran.