Bringing back the culture of desi cotton from seed to stitch

Sonali Bhattacharya founded Love for the Loom to bring back to life some of the forgotten human artistry in our fabrics.

Komal Baldaniya, the founder of the artisan-led brand Varso works with the sustainably grown rain-fed Kala cotton on which she does Ajrakh hand block prints and soof embroidery. She says she grew up in Kutch and got enchanted by the work of the artisans, and wanted to do something to preserve the rich textile legacy of the region. Varso has trendy jackets, tops, co-ord sets in Kala cotton with beautiful hand embroidery by the Meghwal community. 

Sonali Bhattacharya founded Love for the Loom to bring back to life some of the forgotten human artistry in our fabrics. She says there is no clear documentation of some of the exquisite jamdani motifs woven in some of the simple tant or tangail sarees of Bengal. She has painstakingly unearthed ancient motifs from paintings, books and the muscle memory of weavers and crafted them on sarees, stoles and dupattas. Now, she is researching the pre-partition and post-partition motifs on garments.

In Sonam Khetan’s womenswear collection, social and environmental issues shine through. The contemporary, elegant clothing line, made by hand, using sustainable fabrics is inspired by ancient cultures, craftsmanship, contemporary art and ecological issues. For instance, a striking design, she says, is inspired by digital monsoon maps, another by clouds. Fierce about giving credit where it is due, on each one of her garments, the names of the workers – be it the pattern master, the tailor or the embroiderer – are stitched on the cuffs. Khetan has also put up a clever installation that captures the disappearing sounds from nature on pieces of garment.

Reviving native practices

These are just a few of the 30-odd brands handpicked by the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textile to showcase their work in regenerative materials and ecosystems for the ‘Weave the Future 2.0’ exhibition going on at the National Crafts Museum in Delhi. The exhibition that kicked off on National Handloom Day on August 7, moves forward from the first edition of ‘Weave the Future’ held during Bharat Tex this February, when brands that were pushing upcycled garments were showcased. Here, the brands chosen are using regenerative materials and also reviving the native practices of India’s age-old textile traditions.

“Upcycling is only solving a problem. It is finding an answer to over consumption and exponential waste. Now we want to go beyond waste, and explore whether we can do better than recycling,” explains Shubhi Sachan, founder of the Material Library of India and the curator of Weave the Future 2.0 exhibition. She describes how we have travelled very far away from the original – which was organic, indigenous and regenerative.

This exhibition picks up the lost thread and literally from seed to stitch takes you through our traditional knowledge, albeit in a futuristic package. As you enter, the very first installation by Satish Poludas, founder of Kora Design Collaborative, Hyderabad, showcases 12 native varieties of cotton seeds and takes you through the processing cycle, from seed separation to fibre to weaving. The message: Cotton is culture and choose regional, seasonal and original.

As you move on stall by stall, you get a view of how designers are adopting the old textile traditions and giving it their own modern spin. For instance, Dhi Earth, founded by Indira Varma from Bengaluru uses natural fabrics and organic dyes in contemporary 9-5 workwear for women. Or the passionate Rushabh Shah and Tanu Maheshwari from Charkha Ghar, Bhopal, who tell you their eye-catching eco-printed hand-spun plant-based fabrics will last far longer.    

However, one gap is still glaringly evident – most of the exhibiting brands are still relying on pop ups and exhibitions to showcase their work, or using platforms like Etsy and Instagram. The challenge is to scale the movement.

Published on August 10, 2025