Designers Redefining the Heritage Patola Sarees

Fashion comes in cycles and so did the never ending glory of Patola sarees. These sarees are double ikkat dyed yards of beauty hailing from Patan, Gujarat.The amount of skill, time and effort that goes into each piece makes these sarees one of the most coveted outfits by Indian women. The luxurious silk showcasing the geometric and folk inspired motifs like flora, fauna and human figurines that add depth and richness to these textiles and infusing it with a piece of soul rooted in Indian ethos. One of the distinctive feature of these drapes is that the motifs are the same on both sides and can be worn without worrying about the right side. The colors of their yarns remain intact for a long time and do not fade due to the time consuming and laborious technique of double ikkat dyeing wherein the yarns are tie dyed first and later woven to create the required patterns. Although patolas are in trend nowadays many designers have experimented with redefining these fabrics in a contemporary way. Some of these designers include Amit Aggarwal, Deepika Govind and Gaurang Shah. • Amit Aggarwal’s collection at Lakme Fashion Week gave traditional Patan Patolas a dramatic makeover by creating runway pieces which ranged from casual wearable outfits to some crazy outfits. He used his textile expertise in reinventing sustainable and durable fabrics by blending discarded scraps of patola and blending it with nylons and plastics creating mesmerizing silhouettes like skirts, flowy drapes, and ruffles in bold color palettes of bright blue, sunset orange and green.These outfits in stand out hues were further embellished with different surface ornamentation that gave some of his runway pieces a touch of eccentricity. • Deepika Govind’s collection on the other hand is tribute to the traditional weaving technique of patola with a pop art twist. From flowy drapes in modern silhouettes to pop art elements woven and printed on the patola fabrics, her runway pieces were the one for the new age Indian woman brimming with bright saturated colors and layers that resonate with revolutionary ethnic designs. • Gaurang Shah has brought out designs that are deeply influence by the heritage weaves and in his “Neel” collection he has combined indigo dyeing technique along with double ikkat technique to create amazing pieces. The entire range used indigo and smaller ikkat patterns in Indigo within red were seen on double Ikkat Patola fabrics along with a line of block prints, kalamkari, parsi embroideries on Banarasi organzas, Khadis, Cottons etc. These highly esteemed drapes range from earthy to vibrant colours, geometric to organic motifs and from traditional to voguish styles, thereby breaking the monotony of ethnic wear designs.