ODISHI BANDHA The gold standard of Ikat and its contemporary styling

History……… The antiquity of the Ikat technique in Orissa, locally called bandha, from bandhana The occurrence of the terms gajabandha and suryavandha in a fourteenth-century text called the Varnartakara, written in Bihar , have led some authorities to take this as evidence that elephant (gaja) and sun (surya)design were woven in the Ikat (bandha) technique at that time , presumly in Odisha. The colour schemes and the motifs are largely inspired by religious beliefs and local rituals. Orissa’s devotion to Lord Jagannath is manifested in the fabrics. Apart from this, the influence of tribal cultures can also be seen in the form of nature inspired motifs.

Insight to Ikat Orissa has long tradition of weaving ,not only in the Ikat technique ,with locally produced tussar silk but also with cotton , and in the present days silk and cotton threads are imported from other parts of country. Long considered as an exotic weave, in the eyes of designer’s and consumers alike, Ikat in its Bandha avatar in Odisha has really grown into the gold standard. The design expertise and finesse of work here has rendered it as a veritable classic. Today it is used as a mainstream high fashion textile.

Traditional Bandha Fabric

Traditional tie (bandha)

Relevance Both Indian and foreign origins, are looking at this classic weave in a new chic light. Gone are the days when looking at Ikat only invoked the styling of traditional attire. Today designers are incorporating the fabric in all kinds of different garments. With the adoption of Bandha by designers as well as prominent personalities, this is now evolving from a heritage textile to a mainstream, consumer centric fashion choice. Inevitably, one can see a rise in the popularity and demand of garments designed from Bandha styled weave.

Traditional pattern used for Bandha.

Contemporary pattern of bandha produced by artisan with designers intervention (breaking trends and traditions)

The Right Perspective... With great design and demand, comes the need to manufacture more. Bandha production in Odisha today is well spread but by no means capable of producing the cloth on a large scale. A great deal of this crafts speciality comes from the special natural dyes used to dye the yarn. Revolutionising the design outlook is certainly the right step in the direction to make Ikat more consumer centric, but other step need to be taken to ensure that the innate characteristics that make this an unique art in textiles are not diluted. We can always argue about the “Taste of the consumer” but there is no denying that textile art, such as Bandha, deserves an unbiased, non-corporate attention.

Contemporary Designs of Bandha

Designers Contribution to Ikat International Designer Peter Pilotto working with Ikat

This cool intricate mani inspired by Oscar de la Renta’s fall 2013 collection is a perfect beauty project for a night hanging at home.

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