Us Desis Were Preserving Our Textiles Long Before The Met Decided To Host An Exhibition To Preserve Theirs

With the Metropolitan Museum of Art announcing its Costume Institute exhibition theme, the internet has been set ablaze with discussions about what kind of garments we’ll be seeing at the event. The theme, just by the way, is Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion. And contrary to what the name may sound like, it’s actually about preservation of over 400-year-old garments, a showcase of exquisite fashion-history and it’s about an ode to nature. A few of the items will be displayed using AI and CGI, especially the ones that are too fragile to be put under any kind of physical distress.

But while the West is only now, in 2023, paying tribute to their fashion heritage and history, at such a large scale, India began its journey of doing the same a while back.

In 2015, the Government of India, designated August 7 as National Handloom Day. It came into existence to mark the 110th anniversary of the Swadeshi Movement, which began in Calcutta in 1905. Over time, the government created provisions to aid handloom villages and further the preservation of our crafts, textiles etc. India produces around 85% of the world’s handwoven products. We have a vast cultural and communal demographic which has led to a rich textile variation as well.

And it seems, we have full understanding of how much our diversity, at least in terms of what our craftsmen have been creating for generations, is our strength and something to hold dear.

Whether it’s Bihar’s Bhagalpuri silk, Tripura’s Pachara, Jharkhand’s Kuchai silk, Maharashtra’s Paithani or Tamil Nadu’s  Kanchipuram silk, we clearly recognised and continued to preserve our rich heritage, in terms of fashion, for the longest.

Most fashion institutes and colleges in India today have created syllabuses that highlight our heritage textiles and educate their students of how important it is that our craftsmen are paid well so that they can continue to create beautiful weaves and textiles.

But what I am saying here, is about what we’ve been doing at large, organisational levels to preserve our fashion history. Smaller, more subtler ways in which we have been protecting our heritage is how we’ve been passing down our grandmother’s sarees, kurtas and dupattas to the next generation. In fact, I myself wore 2 of my mother’s oldest, cotton and silk sarees for Diwali this year (and it was a sheer pleasure).

And apart from this, brands and labels such as Hut Mentality, Ayush Kejriwal, Nimbu Chai Studio, Raw Mango, Jaypore, and Fab India are steadily, innovatively incorporating and preserving Indian heritage textiles, embroidery techniques etc to create beautiful designs.

But are we trying to throw shade at the West for their brilliant decision to host the next MET Gala to preserve rare, and delicate pieces? Are we trying to compare ourselves and prove our capabilities and compete with the West by sharing all this? Not at all, this just seemed like an excellent opportunity to talk about how much we value our heritage and fashion history, and how well we’ve been taking care of it. Though yes, we’d also like to spread the word about our rich textile heritage before someone from the outside tries to monetize off of it, in a turmeric-latte fashion.

By discussing the wonderful ways in which us desis have been in a love affair with our handlooms and weaves for decades, we simply aim to say ‘Hey look, we’ve got amazing fashion history ourselves, care to take a peak?’

From being the little girl who wrapped herself up in her mother’s dupattas and climbed into her too-big heels, to becoming a grown-up who enjoys and respects the crafts of our country, and has an appreciation for fashion beyond what the Western media offers, the journey has been a good and wholesome one. I look forward to the Met Gala, to the exhibition, how the guests will show up, and also have great respect for the work that’ll be showcased there, and at the same time, recognise the beauty of my country’s indigenous crafts.