Designer calls for greater support to traditional weavers and artisans, encouraging consumers to invest in handloom fabrics and timeless fashion
Mumbai: Renowned couture designer Anjali Phougat has urged women to embrace India’s traditional textile heritage and adopt a more sustainable approach to festive fashion, emphasising the importance of choosing craftsmanship over mass-produced clothing.
With the festive and wedding season underway, Phougat believes consumers should invest in timeless garments that can be worn repeatedly rather than purchasing new outfits for every occasion.
She has highlighted India’s rich textile traditions, including Pichwai-inspired artistry, Patola, Kalamkari, Banarasi silk, Kanjivaram, Chikankari, Zardozi, Gota Patti and Kamdani. According to her, these crafts represent generations of artistic knowledge and the skills of traditional weavers and artisans.
Phougat has also emphasised the importance of supporting handloom weaving, or Bunai, which preserves traditional techniques and provides livelihoods to artisan communities. She encourages consumers to understand the difference between handloom and powerloom fabrics and make informed choices while purchasing clothes.
For festive dressing, she recommends handwoven sarees in traditional colours such as red, maroon and deep wine, alongside understated shades of ivory, champagne and antique gold. These can be paired with temple jewellery, polki earrings, embroidered potli bags and contemporary blouses.
Advocating conscious consumption, Phougat suggests rewearing and restyling existing garments instead of treating festive clothing as disposable fashion. Traditional sarees and embroidered dupattas, she says, can be transformed into contemporary outfits and preserved as family heirlooms.
” The future of luxury is conscious. It is about buying fewer but better pieces, supporting our weavers, rewearing our treasures and passing them on to the next generation,” Phougat said.
Founder of Designer Dream Collection, Phougat promotes Indian craftsmanship and sustainable fashion through her work on international fashion platforms.
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