PROfile

Arundhati Roy loves to drape herself in six yards of the Chanderi weave that’s designed by National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) graduate, Sanjay Garg. Even Shabana Azmi and Renuka Chaudhary are fans of his minimalist yet creative Chanderi lines.

In a first of sorts, Garg is weaving the Chanderi with an unusual combination of yarns such as imported Merino wool and silk, converting the traditional cotton and silk fabric into sophisticated winter attire. Stepping on to the textile trail, the 29-year-old is reviving Chanderi as contemporary in spirit and feel.

As a child Garg was intensely craft- oriented and pursued hobbies like folk theatre while he doodled tirelessly on scraps of paper. And he always wanted to pursue a formal degree in design.

As part of his undergraduate programme at the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design in Jaipur, the Rajasthan-born fabric designer cut his teeth on lehriya (a tie-and-dye technique) working with master craftsman, Baba Ikramuddin. He quit the course midway and joined the NIFT, Delhi, in 2001, to pursue a degree in Textile Design and Development.

He had hands-on training during his stint at NIFT when he did a craft documentation programme in Paithan, Maharashtra. He followed it up with a design diploma in Portico, New York, a fabric printing outfit.

Back in India, in 2005 he joined Shades of India, an upscale home fashion label as a designer. “Shades of India made me realise that if there was a niche market for hand-woven fabrics abroad, there must be one in India too,” he recalls.

Then his career took another turn. In 2007, the Ministry of Textiles announced ‘cluster development’ schemes for the empowerment of various handloom industries. As part of its initiative to promote the handloom sectors, it conducted interviews with textile designers and Garg was selected to work in Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, with many talented weavers of the eponymous fabric. He spent two years in Chanderi as part of the government project as well as working independently, resurrecting the local weave. His label Raw Mango was born in 2008.

Beginning with a measly Rs 95,000, he managed to weave 70 saris from that paltry amount and showcased them at the Kalaghoda Festival in Mumbai, supported by Jaya Jaitly, president of Dastkari Haat Samiti. The exhibition was a sell-out.

He has been recently awarded Best Designer by the Ministry of Textiles and retails from his studio in Vasant Kunj and designer store, L’Affaire in the Capital, along with stores like Good Earth in Delhi and Mumbai, Cinnamon in Bangalore and Amethyst in Chennai. His production unit comprising 120 looms operates entirely out of Madhya Pradesh, where the craft originated.

Trends

“The urban working woman is not against the sari but she wears it sparingly and wants it to fall well,” says Garg. So, he always uses de-gummed silk (removing the silkworm saliva which makes the fabric stiff), to produce a softening effect. Garg has also brought a modern design element to the craft, by focusing on inlay weaving techniques like Jamdani and double ikat (a traditional Orissa weave) in pure silk.

The designer launches fresh collections every season and his latest range titled ‘Mughal returns to Chanderi,’ is replete with Mughal motifs like cypress trees, lilies and marigold. Depending on the complexity of technique, his saris could take a week to one month in the making.

PROducts

Garg’s forté lies in designing saris, stoles and dupattas, priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 24,000. He mixes various fibres such as khadi and silk, khadi and tissue as well as merino wool and silk and even experiments with new fibres in traditional Chanderi-like Aeri silk from Assam.

While zari fibres have always been manufactured with only gold and silver metals, Garg has introduced copper to add variety to his repertoire.

His Chanderi cache has a few beauties. A bright fuchsia silk and cotton sari with a slim aubergine border and mute Jamdani detailing stands out. Lotus motifs on the pallu lend it an elegant quality (Rs 4,500). Another attention grabber is a startling lime green sari in pure silk, which has a darker tone of green and zari to embellish its border (Rs 6,500).

The stoles and dupattas (Rs 1,800) use the extra weft technique and are the stuff of casual wear. Unlike stiff handwoven accessories, they’re soft with interesting finishes like crinkling.