The Change-Makers Of The Textile Industry

The change-makers of the textile industry recapitulate 2022 and share insights into their vision boards for the future. Shivpriya Bajpai takes us through

- Shivpriya Bajpai

The poignant role of khadi in India’s freedom movement paved the way for the global appeal of hand-woven Indian textiles. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, Martand Singh, the erstwhile Rajput prince and textile conservationist from Kapurthala, joined his mentor and legendary cultural activist, Pupul Jayakar, in a tireless pursuit of reviving and conserving India’s heritage of textiles through nuanced exhibits and research. Clearly, the rich legacy of Indian textiles is a proud testament to people’s history and their relationship with the environment.

The laborious task of revival never took a backseat as the vanguards of textiles took to restructuring and rebranding to adapt to the changing narrative. As a result, the virtues of indigenous textiles are rooted in our shared cultural conscience, which seamlessly blends heritage with the contemporary. We speak with four such textile-driven fashion designers who are breaking new ground in long-standing traditions.

DEFINING MOMENTS

The textile industry has made a sharp recovery post-pandemic. The collective strength of the industry was on display when the proposed increase in GST on handlooms was floated as an idea and was shot down by the concerted bargaining power of the industry. It was an excellent example of the industry closing ranks and working collaboratively to put forth a view beneficial to many stakeholders, highlights KH Radharaman, Founder and Principal Designer of House of Angadi.