The London Sari-Suit at the London Design Festival 2016

Neishaa Gharat has created the “London Sari-Suit” for the exhibition Transformation curated by The Indian Design Platform. By combining two different histories and narratives, the sari-suit will re-fashion Neishaa’s mother’s and grandmother’s saris, giving them a new life and creating a desirable contemporary garment.

With so much emphasis on high design and high-tech in typical design shows, an exhibition focusing on waste as a resource brings a new perspective to the international conversation about designing for life in contemporary cities.”Curator, Arpna Gupta.”

The Indian Design Platform returns to London Design Festival – this time exploring the theme of “Transformation”. The exhibition takes inspiration from the culture of recycling and reuse that exists to the extreme in India, exploring the ways in which artists and designers have reinterpreted humble, discarded materials as design objects. A selection of work inspired by salvaged materials and traditional craftsmanship will reveal how contemporary designers are imaginatively reshaping the culture of recycling

Neishaa hails from a culture where hand me downs is a way of life. Where a garment is not only altered to fit family and friends but are also given second and third lives. The traditional Indian sari and the future of its makers is a theme that manifests in various forms and formats in her work. “The Sari is facing a challenge and there is a need to transform both its use and the skills of traditional weavers to create a new future. The “London Sari-Suit” will look at the Sari not in its material form but as a vehicle of tracing heritage and roots through cultural transformation.” says Neishaa. Both the British suit and the Indian sari are two symbolic garments representing their countries of origin; they are an institution and often symbolize power and social order. By combining two different histories and narratives, the sari-suit will re-fashion Neishaa’s mother’s and grandmother’s saris creating a new conversation thus giving them a new life. The installation will unfold itself into a year long project leading to the London Design Festival next year. 2017, the UK India Year of Culture will also be marking an important milestone between the 2 countries and will give her the opportunity to further explore British Indian cross influences through the Sari-Suit.

Neishaa Gharat is a London based founder-designer of House of Gharats. It was born out of the love of living an artful life with purpose. British Indian cross influences seamlessly weave into the fabric of her work. Redefining cultural relationships and creating new style synergies through art and fashion, producing a delightful approach to everyday dressing and living. The house style is somewhere between classic and nonconformist. The old and new play off one another in perfect harmony. There is an undeniable appreciation for tradition and the antiquated, but also so much creative progression – and a love for beauty, which is highly individualistic. Contemporary design thinking collaborates with traditional Indian arts, crafts and textiles to create timeless garments and objects.

Inspired by the London Sari Suit photographer Josh Eustace created art works with his signature photo collage style. See the collages here.

Sari Used for the London Sari Suit.

Sari 1
Double Ikat Silk Sari
Ikat, is a dyeing technique used to pattern textiles that employs resist dyeing on the yarns prior to dyeing and weaving the fabric. Double Ikat is created by resist-dyeing both the warp and weft prior to weaving.[9]
This form of weaving requires the most skill for precise patterns to be woven and is considered the premiere form of ikat.
In ikat the resist is formed by binding individual yarns or bundles of yarns with a tight wrapping applied in the desired pattern. The yarns are then dyed. The bindings may then be altered to create a new pattern and the yarns dyed again with another colour. This process may be repeated multiple times to produce elaborate, multicolored patterns. When the dyeing is finished all the bindings are removed and the yarns are woven into cloth.

Sari 2
Silk Sari with gold brocade border and motif

When & Where:
Guardian Building, King’s Cross Creative Quarter.
19-25 September 2016
Mon-Sat: 10am-7pm, Sunday: 10am-5pm
Image Credits : Josh Eustace