From Ladakh to Kerala, Gujarat to Arunachal Pradesh, homegrown textile brands from across India are making their mark, preserving and reinterpreting India’s textile art while also making a contemporary statement. This came alive at the Surajkund International Crafts Mela in Faridabad, Haryana, last month, as the Aurangabad-based woman-led enterprise Shikha’s Kariigarii presented a thematic fashion show that ended with a tribute to Operation Sindoor – the precision strikes India carried out last year in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 tourists.
Shikha’s Kariigarii works around hand painting on fabric and products, and is an official partner of ODOP (One District One Product), Government of India.
The fashion show opened with a homage to India’s tribals and their textile traditions. Titled ‘A Tribal Life – Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat’, it showcased the diversity of India’s tribal weaves, rooted in nature, survival, ritual and identity.
It was followed by a showcase of India’s Silk diversity – from Tussar and Chanderi and Banarasi to Lachcha Buta, Venkatagiri and Kuthampully.
Then came the showcase of of ‘Tribal to Modern Art – Hand-painted Sarees of India’. It featured hand-painted artworks inspired by Madhubani, Pattachitra, Warli, Gond, Pichwai, Assamese traditions and Chittara art.
“For me, a saree was not just a garment, it was a moving canvas. Every brushstroke carried the artist’s memory, belief and lived experience,” said Shikha Ajmera, founder of Shikha’s Kariigarii, about the collection.
The show culminated with a fashion tribute titled ‘Pride of India – Operation Sindoor’, which showcased models dressed in saris in shades of orange, white, green and blue, evoking the colours of the Indian tricolour.
“Through Shikha’s Kariigarii, my endeavour had always been to ensure that our traditional art forms did not remain confined to museums or walls, but lived, breathed and moved with people,” said Ajmera. “When someone wore these sarees, they were not wearing fashion, they were wearing history, culture and the soul of an artist,” she added.