STUDENT’S SPOTLIGHT: Draperies of the Kushan Era

The spotlight for this month at Whistling Woods Neeta LullaSchool of Fashion was on the Kushan Draping Style by our students. Guided by Jashika Ratanpal, textle designer one of our faculty members, our students have created garments inspired from the Kushan era.

The Kushan era spanned across centuries and covered a large geographical area including parts of China, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North India and had influences of Buddhism and its followers. Culturally, the Kushan Empire borrowed a lot from Buddhist and Greek cultures and seamlessly wove in the brilliance in their sartorial creations.

The Costumes

The Kushan (Indo-scythian) dress had evolved from a nomad culture based on the use of the horse. Drapery is stylized in the early period, and they are in stark contrast to the second style, which is typified by the Gandhara and Mathura schools of Kushan art.

The ordinary dress consisted of an antariya, uttariya and kayabandh, with a turban for men. But the arrival of the Kushans extended the fashion of wearing sewn garments with all classes of Indians in north India. 

Kushan costumes may be divided into five types:

·         Antariya, Uttariya, and Kayabandh- Worn by Indigenous people

·         Kancuka, red-brown in color- Worn by guardians and attendants of the harem

·         Garments with embellishments worn by Kushan rulers and their entourage  

·         Rich fabrics Worn by other foreigners such as grooms, traders, etc

·         A mixture of different fabrics - Worn by foreign and indigenous people

Although, the clothes were simple, they were often adorned with stamped gold or metal plates, square, rectangular, circular, or triangular sewn in lines or at the central seams of the tunic.

To gain a holistic idea of drapery of Kushna civilization, our students draped mannequins in styles prevalent during that era and further, to get inspired by the cultural richness and take forward the essence while designing a modern day drape.

Our students found this activity engaging and enjoyed along with learning more about the Indian historic costumes.