Handcrafted Hurdles
Forget preserving handicrafts, let them flourish.
Most of our trickle-up approaches are at play in the Indian handicraft sector, where artisans include more than a generation into celebrating the slow process of craft creation.
The process is an addition to the lives of the artisans at the grassroot level, along with being a factor of employment and income generation venture possibilities.
To add on to it, the handcrafted love is far from being one-sided. Artisans practicing these crafts bring a fresh life to the languishing traditions. A true practice of killing two birds with one stone, not devoid of its own questionable arguments of credibility, authenticity and sustainability.
The talk of the fashion town, slow fashion and sustainability somewhere dismisses the low-income areas creating masterpieces in terms of textiles. Indian loom-work ticks all the checklist points (except one) of the requirements of today’s holy grail in garments. Ethical, reusable, animal and eco friendly, the list might go on in the praise of the advantages handcrafted apparels have, but what most lack to come in the forefront is the safety net to break boundaries.
The focal point for us should be on the reasons behind the succumbed nature of these crafts, on why the epitome of ethical fashion cannot rise in the fashion scene of the 21st century.
The Experimental Frontier
While handcrafted products can be a boon for us and the environment alike, the Indian handicraft sector is shrouded from the wider world leading to its near demise. Ignorance sure is bliss, yet in the case of growth, the hurdle of scanty resources suppresses these crafts from limelight.
Styles and Silhouettes
A demand from the wealthy is incessant on the limited number of craftsmen working on a fabric taking months to just dye in the right color.
Even though it is inarguable that the communication through government schemes bridges the gap between the buyers and the artisans, the room for little tweaks and modifications are significantly less. Whether you term it the comfort of the hand on the loom, or the holy values attached with the fabric, the aged methods fail to capture the hearts of billions of people in the current times.
An artisan who has seen a village as their world, with men in kurtas and women covering their heads at at times has a highly unlikely chance of creating a newfound silhouette like the Mcqueen’s bumster, and after all, in their perspective, the money invested in the craft is barely making enough profit for them to try it out on ‘experimentations’.
Someone who has never been exposed to the internet cannot fathom skin show in their creations (which is a great mark for ‘modernity’ as an insult in many orthodox cultures). However, to each its own on this definition, we can all agree that going astray from one’s culture can be near to disassociating oneself from our identity.
Connecting such artisans with literate designers (meaning: open to experimental ideas) often helps in creating fresh apparels and garments. A tangible perspective is given by an upcycled sustainable brand, Flipitt, wherein the basic model focuses on upcycling their customers’ wardrobe.
Youth Appeal and Fast Fashion
While Forbes found that 62% of Gen Z prefer to buy from sustainable brands and are willing to pay more for ethically made products (via Vox), fast fashion brands are nowhere near their doomsday. Blame it on the replicas of Gucci and Off-White designs mega-produced each week, or to the embarrassingly cheap prices for a dress in mere cents, the generation of today is still growing into adulthood, leading to a budgeted pocket for fashionable clothing.
The lockdown added on to the customer base for these shopping sites, and unlike iconic names of Zara and H&M, handmade products are hardly ever given a branding for recognition. A down-to-earth nature of these artisans contribute both to the wholesome gesture of the craft, as well as the constant failure in popularity.
Research Redistribution
The life cycle of a trend today has shortened to match with our attention spans, with platforms like WGSN forecasting it per week on their social media handles. Unfortunately, the immense amount of data gathered per season is a slave to the infamous gatekeeping in the industry.
Artisans in remote areas, where water and food is uncertain, do not have the access to trend forecasting research to pre-plan their collections (if any). Their skillsets are thus incorporated into clientele work, with the future weaves are also determined by the orders they receive.
Indian artisans unknowingly reach out for the evergreen classics indigenous to their lifestyle, however not each cut can have the stay like that of an anarkali gown.
Middlemen and the Market
Talk about credits, and the monetary value of it will be nowhere near to what is required to be called a daily wage. The traditions thrive due to the communities being cut-off from the modernization of the market, which turns out to be a reason for its deprived promotional reach. Remote areas lack the communication and exchange of ideas required for innovation, and the existence of middlemen makes the situation worse.
Workshops, exhibitions and showcasing the items in developed cities can be a platform for these craftsmen to interact with their craft lovers and enthusiasts..
Thrift stores catering to people ready to buy second hand products are a medium to explore when it comes to handcrafted goods. Artisans rely on the exclusivity and the efforts put in the individual pieces to price their items. A second hand sourcing can open up opportunities to market to a wider audience, a varied age range and people from vastly different financial backgrounds.
High Fashion and Hand Loved
Indian high fashion cannot be dismissed without the mention of our beloved lehengas, and the workforce it requires to bring it to life. Many renowned designers work alongside artisans from underprivileged history to give them an incentive to self-reliance. The exposure and the financial benefits are unspoken, yet noteworthy.
On the flipside, the amount of extravagant glamour is unmatched to the cash which comes in these artisans’ hands. Individual heroes are not brought up by name, rather clubbed together as ‘craftsmen’ or ‘team’ on Instagram highlights. Indian high fashion still has umpteen amounts of room for experimentation in the handicraft sector, yet most of the ideas are unfortunately left to dust.
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