THE VOGUE FABRIC
-An attempt of growing the trends with roots
Every trend has its roots somewhere in history and trends are really what
fashion world go round. Innovations & Renovations is a big wave that is
currently in vogue!
-GAGANA S
Aim
To create a space which can bring in the growth of Indian Fashion of clothing
culture with the essence of the tradition and roots through workshops, learning
centres
Understanding the Indian fabrics, clothing and tradition.
Introducing and inculcating in the new the new trends.
Culture and Fashion
The relationship between culture and fashion is intrinsic and dynamic. Cultures
across the world use clothing to make statements on the nature of power
relations, personal relationships and hierarchies within communities. The links
are diverse and often complex, involving sociological and psychological
research.
Clothing, Leisure and Place
Clothing choices are often a reflection of where we are from, current social
norms and choice of leisure activities. As such, study of these issues is
interesting and relevant. An exploration of contemporary styles is also
interesting in this context as it has the capacity to both diversify and limit
traditional looks.
For example, fur has gone out of fashion to the extent of being illegal, while
tartans remain ever as fashionable as they always have been. Regional styles are
interesting to study as they can be effectively compared across the country, e.g.:
Rural/Urban wear. Fashion has been intrinsically connected to leisure for
centuries – especially through mediums such as the theatre and sports. Within
this relationship exists a complex and powerful history of evolving beliefs and
cultural change? Why do we wear certain items of clothing in certain places or
for certain activities? What would happen if we didn’t?
INDIA
India is known for its diversity the all over the globe. Ethnic clothing is just one
of the things that distinguish one part of India from the other. The traditional
Indian attire has earned admirers from people from all over to organizations like
UNESCO.
The craftsmanship with which artisans create traditional dresses is really
incredible. All forms of clothing are quite labour intensive and require a lot of
attention to detail. Many of these art forms are dying because the cost of
production is higher and few people can afford to pay the high cost of the dress.
This has forced the textile ministry to come up with ways to sustain these
artisans and preserve their talent and art. As every state in India is
geographically different from the other, this has given rise to varied kinds of
dresses and styles.
Background
The story of textiles in India is one of the oldest in the world. The earliest
surviving Indian cotton threads date to around 4000 BC and dyed fabrics from
the region are documented as far back as 2500 BC.
India’s textiles were so central to its identity abroad that in ancient Greece and
Babylon the very name ‘India’ was shorthand for ‘cotton’. India’s textiles are
embedded in every aspect of its identity. Courtly splendour was proclaimed by
magnificent fabrics and religious worship still finds expression through cloth.
Global trade systems were formed on the export of Indian fabrics, and the hand-
making of cloth continues to shape India today.
Clothing
India's recorded history of clothing goes back to the 5th millennium BC in
the Indus Valley civilization where cotton was spun, woven and dyed. Bone
needles and wooden spindles have been unearthed in excavations at the site.
[2]
The cotton industry in ancient India was well developed, and several of the
methods survive until today.
Herodotus, an ancient Greek historian described Indian cotton as "a wool
exceeding in beauty and goodness that of sheep". Indian cotton clothing was
well adapted to the dry, hot summers of the subcontinent. The Indus civilisation
also knew the process of silk production. Recent analysis of Harappa silk fibres
in beads have shown that silk was made by the process of reeling, a process
allegedly known only to China until the early centuries AD.
Fashion
The history of clothing in India dates back to ancient times, yet fashion is a
new industry, as it was the traditional Indian clothing with regional variations,
be it the sari, ghagra choli or dhoti that remained popular until the early decades
of post-independence India.
A common form of Indian fashion originates from Western culture. Fashion
includes a series of sequins and gold thread to attract customers and apply a
statement to the Indian fashion community. A famous Indian fashion trademark
is embroidery, an art of sewing distinct thread patterns. A way to include the
traditional look and create a new fashion statement includes embroidery applied
to different dresses, skirts, shirts, and pants to reflect the western culture
influence as well as include the Indian tradition.
Evolution of Fashion:
The Indian village bears little resemblance to its predecessor of about six
thousand years ago. For centuries, Indian Costumes and Textiles have been
admired for their great aesthetics and cultural values. Clothes are natural to
human and their proper decoration on his unclothed body is not ugly, on the
contrary it is beautiful and pleasing.
Costumes are used not only to cover the body and embellish it; they also
constitute a significant non-verbal medium of communication that serves to
establish the cultural identity of a person’s community or country of origin at
any given historical period. They help understand fashion trends prevalent
during historical time-frame. It has been observed that fashion trends usually
veer towards new direction every ten to twenty years.
A land of ideas in Indian fashion
South emphasis of shifting back to culture and a certain Indianen, it is
understandable that our designers are heavily drawing from the inexhaustible
riches of our country for inspiration designers
India inspires
India fashion has travelled across borders and left its Mark ashore with the
international runways, celebrities and designers adopting it designers look up
for the hidden flavours in each and every part of the country.
The challenge of having inspiration is how you translate it, experience it and
turn it out into reality.
The fluidity of an Indian saree ,the exquisite Indian textiles and it's
embroideries, motifs, jewellery ,dyeing techniques and of course our royal
architecture have all influenced the international designers in myriad ways.
Colour explosion, vibrancy, beauty and impeccable skill of intricate craft work
never go unnoticed.
Today’s Trend:
Today, you can well describe our Indian clothing industry in a blossoming take
off stage. Versatile Indian clothing styles reflects the faces of diversity in India.
Apparels are undergoing astounding changes in this globalized era. Fashion
often reflects the society. Important personalities in history have also had an
impact on fashion, but no matter how competitive and innovative the Fashion
industry is, it actually has to follow what is called the “Fashion Cycle”, which
has no specific measurable time period. Some styles sustain for longer period of
time. Some die out soon, and some styles come back years after they were
declined.
Impact in Future:
Indian clothing style have conquered fashion textile across the globe but the
Indian themselves are unaware of the treasure they have gained. Indian fashion
has transformed through years, harnessing both the traditional and cosmopolitan
look. The western influence is so strong on Indian culture that it has paved the
way for a difference in style.
Globalization, and the accessibility of cultures, and the interconnectedness of
people over the internet and through mass media will likely force a
convergence of fashion trends in architecture, music, online presence, and
clothes.
Issues?
Lack of Fibre neutrality
Despite being the second largest textile exporter in the world, India lags far
behind in this category, due to limited availability of manmade fibres at
competitive prices. The textile value chain in the country also bears a differential
tax treatment.
Lower Efficiency
With the increasing global competition, one of the main factors affecting the
growth of garment in India is the lower productivity level.
To improve this condition, the garment sector needs to be supported with latest
technologies and processes that are more efficient.
India is a country with an ancient clothing design traditions, yet an ancient
fashion industry. Though handful of designers existed prior to the 1890’s, the
late 80’s, the 1990’s saw the spurt of the growth. This was the result of
increasing exposure to global fashion and the economic boom after economic
liberalization of the Indian economy in 1990.
Indian textile industry challenges
The Indian textile industry is highly fragmented and is being dominated by the
unorganized sector and small and medium industries. The changing government
policies at the state and central government levels are posing major challenges
to the textile industry. Another important thereat is raising interest rates and
labour wages and workers’ salaries. There is higher level of attrition in the
garment industry.
In India places such as Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi and Tripura are the hubs
of textile garment industries. These manufacturers have ability to produce the
entire range of woven wear and knitwear at low cost with reasonably good
quality within the short notices. The Indian textile industry has its own
limitations such as accesses to latest technology and failures to meet global
standards in the highly competitive export market.
Indian textile industry opportunities
The fundamental strength of Indian textile industry is its strong production base
with wide range of fibres/yarns. These are natural fibres such as cotton, jute,
silk and wool and synthetic/man-made fibres like polyester, viscose, nylon and
acrylic. In producer-driven value chains, large, usually transnational,
manufacturers play the central roles in coordinating production networks.
Textile industry is capital- and technology-intensive comparable with
automobiles, aircraft, computers, semiconductors and heavy machinery
industry. This pattern of trade-led industrialization has become common in
labour-intensive, consumer-goods industries such as garments, footwear, toys,
handicrafts and consumer electronics.
Large manufacturers control the producer-driven value chains at the point of
production, while marketers and merchandisers exercise the main leverage in
buyer-driven value chains at the design and retail stages. Apparel is an ideal
industry for examining the dynamics of buyer-driven value chains.
The relative ease of setting up clothing companies, coupled with the prevalence
of developed-country protectionism in this sector, has led to an unparalleled
diversity of garment exporters in the third world. Apparel is an ideal industry
for examining the dynamics of buyer-driven value chains.
Conclusion:
The main aim was just to understand how the apparel trend can impact us. The
noticeable changes in trends were seen from centuries but still our ancestors
kept the Indian treasure alive even after the strong influence of Britishers. But
now the new fashion trends and the western culture influence are more effectual
which is not only changing the clothing’s but also the minds of generations.
While Indian youth was adopting western trends, the West was getting highly
influenced by Indian culture and practices.
Today’s society wants to get modern but that doesn’t mean you go western.
Indian fashion has grown but should be grown with essence of its roots of
fashion.
Objectives:
A museum representing the wide variety of (The wide range of materials and
techniques used in India).
Understanding the needs of Indian fashion of clothing and accessories.
Learning the essence of Indian Fashion and inculcating it.
Improving and enriching traditions from our roots.
Case study:
The Victoria and Albert Museum (The wide range of materials and techniques
used in India have been preserved and documented at the V&A.)
https://www.vam.ac.uk/
NIFT College Mumbai
National Institute of Fashion Technology.
Site locations:
Goa
Coimbatore
A land of variety in every sense—
India has so much to offer, it might just take you by surprise. From the array of
delicacies to the interesting customs, traditions and festivals we celebrate, every
state has its own cultural identity. And an essential part of that is the attire of the
people.
Did you know that not just the outfits, but even the fabric used to make them
are unique to each state of India? Yes, from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, every
region has its own handloom techniques that are used to weave many unique
fabrics.
These dresses carry with them our age old traditions that keep us connected to
our roots and make us enjoy our vibrant cultures
Bibliography
https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/4wISOUQuPAXOJw
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clothing_in_India
Indian Textile Industry-Article by Satish Kumar R
Fashion trends and its impact on society, a case study o apparel trends of Indian society - Barkha
Ravi Shende
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fashion_in_India#History
https://www.craftsvilla.com/blog/indian-handlooms-from-different-states-of-india/
https://textilelearner.blogspot.com/2016/03/overview-of-khadi-industry-in-india.html?m=1
