No barricade on brocade

Manpriya Singh

Indians have never really placed brocade outside the context of a few key words— Benaras, tradition and saree blouse. The designers have largely hammered onto the beauty of the weave and the labour gone into the making of the fabric.

In the traditional rhetoric, what’s often lost is its western potential. As we dive further into the fall, it’s time to reconsider all the potential that the weave has in store.

“The beauty of brocade lies in its hold, in the sheer absence of any fall in the fabric. Then the golden and floral weaves meshed into the fabric make it versatile for the winter and evenings out,” shares Arika Kahlon, who runs the label, Shadow. She has finished an Indo-Western fusion line comprising brocade pants and matching jackets.

It wasn’t until Fashion Design Council of India’s Weaves of Benaras initiative earlier this year, that the fashion heads went full on and beyond the saree blouse, unimaginable kameez or at best men’s sherwani. The first half of the show (all about western silhouettes) had the likes of Namrata Joshipura present a brocade trench coat in black and gold, a jumpsuit and a long dress with a slit. Rajesh Pratap Singh, who’s never given into market clichés (he doesn’t make lehengas), gave the traditional brocade a spin with his line of coats.

Designer's Rinku Sobti’s Loom 1905, has taken up the cause since years now, the recent being the hand woven collection Essenza for the Make in India initiative for the Ministry of Textiles. “Working closely with the weavers of the Barjardiya cluster, it gave endless freedom to customise the fruit motifs in rich colors along with portraying a sweet essence of craftsmanship of the weavers.” He advocates styling the fabric with rich and royal solids, velvets and silks for the evenings, crepes, georgettes and satins for the day. “Layer it, pair it and wear it. May it be the traditional long skirt or a clean cut dress, brocade can be carried off with minimal effort in multiple looks. Always choose a pattern on the fabric, to suite your particular body type.”

Brocade, miles away from Benaras

Meanwhile, the big shots in the world of luxury fashion have more than done justice to the rich silk fabric. Making it an evening staple and a fall favourite. It was only in February this year that all things brocade made a big appearance at New York Fashion Week. Michael Kors’ brocade pants in gold and white teamed up with white shirt could easily make for both day wear as well office. While he reinterpreted it in a trench coat format, the likes of Oscar de La Renta, created brocade styles with shorter hemlines, or paired them with button-down tops. Understandably, there’s no dearth of appearance of brocade either on the red carpet or the celebs’ wardrobe.

Dos and don’ts

• The beauty of the weave lies in its texture, which is anything but flowy. Think of well-fitted silhouettes with brocade. A straight midi brocade skirt makes more sense than a skater skirt, right?
• Well-endowed women should be a little careful, avoiding any overall outfit in brocade. Brocade pants/ skirt are best teamed with a flowy top.
• No matter how much ever reinvented or reinterpreted, a brocade outfit can’t go to the movies, so an appropriate occasion is a must before you decide to throw on one. Designer Rinku Sobti, throws in a couple of more don’ts. “Never over do the brocade, or try to make it big (literally.) This fabric is too pretty to be gathered too much together. Also never wear this fabric with an ill-fitting garment, prefer made to fit or customised clothing while choosing brocade.”

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