Historic Indian costumes and weaving techniques

Fashion draws inspiration from the past and historic costumes. Therefore, an aspiring designer needs to be well-aware about the subject of ‘Historic Costumes’. The study of fundamentals of historic Indian costumes gives resourceful insights to the students regarding fashion of a particular era. They can understand the fabric used in ancient times and the culture of the period. Understanding historic costume can trigger a student’s imagination to create something incredible. For example, the historical costumes of the Mughal period have inspired designers to reinvent sherwanis, churidars, and anarkalis.

              

But along with understanding historic costumes, understanding the weaving techniques that were used is also imperative. The basics of weaving are same today, as they were centuries ago. The two most important weaving techniques that an aspiring fashion and textile student should absolutely know about are the handloom and the power loom. Knitting follows the suit and holds high significance in historic costumes. Crochet, also adds to the list. Though not originally Indian, Crochet has evolved to be a significant technique in Indian fashion over generations.

Historic costumes and the weaving techniques are two of the most important topics for students of fashion and textile designing. The first draws inspirations through cultures of different eras and the latter gives an understanding of how fabrics were made. This knowledge is like raw material to an aspiring designer which provides an idea of the fabric, the draping capabilities, elasticity, and the prosperities of the fabric. As Jaishika Ratanpal, Faculty of Whistling Woods- Neeta Lulla School of Fashion says, “This is studying the evolution of fashion, how a garment evolves from a single drape to complete garments and without this knowledge a designer cannot design a new garment or fabric.”

Watch Jaishikha Ratanpal speak on evolution of historic costumes and why it is essential.

Fabrics in fashion- Basics of Handloom and Jacquard

Fabrics used in fashion and textile design are broadly of two major categories. Hand woven fabrics that are manually woven in looms or popularly called Handloom fabrics. The other kinds, woven in power loom or technically called Jacquards. The major difference between Handloom and Jacquard is that handloom fabrics are woven with clear warps and wefts, whereas, Jacquard fabrics are complex to weave as they are woven with repetitive patterns. 

There are 3 major Handloom fabrics which are widely used in textile design:

Cotton: The most common, widely used fabric with usage ranging from apparels to home décor. The fabric is skin friendly and has infinite scope in fashion designing.

Silk: This is one of the strongest natural fabric that is hand woven. Silk is known for its luster and elegance. Because of its exclusivity, and subtlety, yet rich in feel, silk is widely used for exclusive fashion.

Jute: A highly durable, strong fabric, Jute traditionally was used for making bags. But with evolution in fashion, Jute, as a fabric has joined the mainstream fashion as designers are experimenting with jute.

Jacquard woven fabrics are:

Damask- This is a reversible kind of fabric that comes mostly in floral, geometrical, scrolls foliage, and ornamental motifs. The Damask fabric has a subtle sheen that becomes noticeable in light.

Brocade- Brocade is a favorite with designers because of the multicolored silk threads used to weave the fabric. They are richly decorative fabrics and suitable for heavy apparel and outerwear. There is an addition of a supplementary weft that gives the illusion of ‘embossing’ on the cloth.

Dobby- Dobby is a patterned fabric and characterized by unique geometric patterns and extra texture on the cloth. It is often considered a tad fancy and comes is all patterns, colors, weights, and textures.

Checks & Stripes- Checks and stripes are created with alternating warps and wefts in contrast color threads. Woven in any natural fabric with blends like polyester, twill Stripes range from tiny pinstripes to 6-inch stripes while checks can be of any sizes.

Knowing about the different kinds of fabrics is very important for fashion aspirants. This helps in understanding which fabric is best suited for what kinds of designs. Whistling Woods-Neeta Lulla School of Fashion ensures that aspirants are aware about such finer details of designing.