As part of the Victoria and Albert Museum's Indian Festival, the Fabrics of India exhibition brings the origin's fashion to life with the exploration of the nature of authentic handmade textiles. This was in order to portray the creation of identity, political and social situations and the history of Indian culture. The textiles dates all the way back to the 3rd century up until the present day in the 21st century.
Upon my visit to the exhibition last Friday, as I took my first steps into the atmospheric silenced decorative gallery, filtered with traditional Asian chimes, I was unexpectedly met by two visually, very modern takes on Indian fashion. In terms of heritage we would normally expect to see an intricacy of saris textiles, however, what I saw was something rather sleek, futuristic and innovative to Asian fashion. This demonstrated the narrative straight away to viewers, that the exhibition entailed to acknowledge the progression from traditional to contemporary Indian fashion and the dynamics within silhouette and shapes that have changed over the centuries. Both garments denote colour, pattern and creativity, but socially they connote messages about the values in the 21st century behind Indian fashion and the usage of fabric as it has changed over time.
As we move further into the exhibition, we stand surrounded by intriguing cloths, fabrics (some a lot basic than others) made from natural plant fibres and raw materials such as chay root bark, pomegranate rinds and turmeric. These have been placed at the beginning of the exhibition so that people can learn about the method of dying fabrics, how silks were woven and the art of 19th century embroidery and embellishment, accompanied by videos and information.
Muslin border embroidered with beetle wings
The further we go into the exhibition we gradually learn that these textiles are also splendidly created as subjects of certain roles of existence in the life cycle. For instance, we see textiles that have been created as a gift in awe and celebration of the birth of a child, the marriage of a man and women or sadly death of an individual.
A variety of religions that are followed among individuals in Indian society such as Hindu, Buddhism, Jhains and Christianity have also been known to make use of Indian fabrics during their rituals and worships.
Tipu Sultan’s 18th Century tent
Tipu Sultan’s 18th Century tent is a portable palace that symbolizes luxury and royalty in the 18th century. Those who visit the exhibition are able to go inside of the tent that was once used and belonged to Tipu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1750-1799. The tent consists of colourful wall hangings made up of cotton chintz, patterned with acanthus cusped niches, each surrounding a central draped ceiling with symmetrical flower arrangement, in crimson reds, regal blues and ivy green hues. Indian artisans during the 1700's achieved this tone of green by layering tones of yellow with dyed indigo.
As I carried on walking round the gallery, I caught a glimpse of a section devoted to the fashions of Bollywood Film. Located among prestige garments created for Indian royalty and priests to symbolize the same hierarchy portrayed in the film, on display there was an extremely embroidered gold silk gown with mirror work embellishment that was worn by Madhuri Dixit in the 2002 Bollywood movie 'Devdas'. This dress was so heavy that in actual fact, Madhuri Dixit could not wear it for the film and therefore, the dress was only used for publicity and the promotion of the film.
Indian Garments by iconic fashion designers
An increase in India's economic power saw an introduction into a new generation of designers, artists, directors and consumers who have chosen to experiment with the art of Indian textile and fabrics to reflect modern day global fashion. Therefore, in the final display of the exhibition, I came across a nouveau 20th to 21st century style of Indian clothing that has been debuted on the runway over the past fifty years. However, by placing these garments in the same exhibition as traditional pieces from previous centuries, it shows that Indian techniques and prints are still used throughout and can be mixed with contemporary trends.
Women's 'Ajrak' Jacket, digitally printed linen, designed by Rajesh Pratap Singh, Delhi, 2010
The jacket above, which is also featured in the exhibition, is a design created by Rajesh Pratap Singh, a designer who combines both western and Indian fashions to modernise the use of traditional Indian fabrics and textiles. It can be seen that Singh has taken inspiration from the signature skull motif that symbolizes Alexander McQueen's brand for his classic western jacket, the 'Women's Skull Ajrak'. What makes his design so different to McQueen's is the use of 'Ajrak'; an Indian technique that entails using vegetable dyes to form of geometric designs with block printing and offer dark blue and red hues. However, the use of Ajrak has been imitated by digital printing to create a twist in comparison to the usual traditional Indian techniques used to print onto fabrics,
Manish Arora design 'Ensemble' SS 2015
The garments seen on the model below are also featured among the exhibition and were designed by Manish Arora. one of the leading fashion designers in India right now.
Manish Arora Butterfly Dress 2008
One out of the two garments showcased at the beginning of the exhibition.
Abraham & Thakoon design
One out of the two garments showcased at the beginning of the exhibition.
V&A GIFT SHOP
The V&A Shop has supported the diversity of the exhibition by presenting an inquisitive collection of products for sale that have been inspired by Indian heritage and the rich culture that follows. The collection consists of fashion accessories, books, decorations, wall hangings, scarves, printed bags and home ware to incorporate the traditional textiles for consumers of the western world to purchase and to display authentic specialist techniques of the artisans across India.
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