Craft revivalist and textile conservationist Madhu Jain is set to unveil her latest creation — Bamboo-Silk Ikat — which, the designer says, has the potential to change the way people understand the evolution of textiles.
Jain promises that the world will take notice of her latest offering, which, according to her, is the very first textile of its kind.
“This collection reflects a convergence of three different schools of weaving in my inimitable style, which is to craft distinctive combinations of two different weaving traditions to create new, museum-worthy textiles, high on quality and design,” Jain told IANS.
“My interpretation of the Ikat traditions of Indonesia, Uzbekistan, and India, rendered faultlessly in bamboo-silk, is a historic creation,” she added.
Since 2001, Jain has been working on developing and refining bamboo yarn, and in 2004, in tandem with the Ministry of Textiles, she formally introduced bamboo in India as an alternative, eco-friendly textile at the 7th World Bamboo Congress here.
Her passion with bamboo has an economic purpose too.
“Very few people are aware that India is the second-largest bamboo producing nation in the world, making it eminently ecologically sustainable. What’s more, the bamboo textile is extremely versatile as it breathes well, has anti-bacterial properties, and is naturally UV protective, all of which makes it highly suitable for Indian climatic conditions, besides being extremely easy on the pocket,” she said.
Jain is justifiably proud of her new line.
“I’ve worked for 15 long years along with my master weavers in perfecting the bamboo-silk Ikat, and it is only now that I feel my persistence has finally paid off.
“I love the fact that this new textile does not eat into the earth’s meagre resources; rather, with bamboo being so plentiful in India, we can provide livelihood options for bamboo growers. The silver lining is that bamboo is biodegradable, so this fabric will leave a very negligible ecological footprint. It truly is a fabric of the future,” said Jain.
Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani is going to launch Jain’s textile on Friday at Organo in Hauz Khas Village, here.
