India has been well known for textile since very ancient times. The origin of Indian textiles can be traced to the Indus valley civilization as early as the 5th millennium BC. The people of that civilization used homespun cotton for weaving their garments and used indigo to colour their fabric. Textile has always played an important part in trade and business here in India. Rome, China and Egypt everywhere traces have been found of Indian textiles. Still, we can say India is a textile hub and it has thousands of clusters that beautifully weave and give us the most beautiful fabrics which mesmerize our eyes.

The industry is extremely varied, with hand-spun and hand-woven textiles sectors at one end of the spectrum, while the capital-intensive sophisticated mills sector on the other end. The decentralised power looms/ hosiery and knitting sector forms the largest component in the textiles sector. The close linkage of the textiles industry to agriculture (for raw materials such as cotton) and the ancient culture and traditions of the country in terms of textiles makes it unique in comparison to other industries in the country. India’s textiles industry has a capacity to produce a wide variety of products suitable for different market segments, both within India and across the world.

the market 

India’s textiles industry contributes a massive 7% to the industry output in 2018-19. The Indian textiles and apparel industry contributed 2% to the GDP. We earn a lot through the export of Indian textiles.

The textile industry has around 4.5 crore employed workers including 35.22 lakh handloom workers across the country. It employs a lot of skilled artisans, talented artists, weavers and more.

Cotton production is one of the biggest production in India. It is expected to reach 36.0 million bales and consumption is expected to reach 114 million bales in 2021. This number shows a 13% growth over the previous year(2020).

The domestic textiles and apparel market stood at an estimated US$ 100 billion in 2019.

These numbers are a clear representation of how huge the textile market is.  India is multi-cultural and this aspect is reflected in India’s style as well. Even if a western influence has made its way in Indian clothing, we somehow find a way of merging the two and creating a new style that is the best of both worlds.

The following is a list of the main kinds of textile and embroidery products of different places in India, which have been developed on the basis of the geographical location, climatic condition and the culture of the areas:

khadi

Khadi is a handspun, hand-woven natural fibre cloth. Also known as khaddar during the British era, depict purely India or one say it’s a swadeshi fabric. Fibres are spun into yarn on a spinning wheel called a charkha. It is a versatile fabric, cool in summer and warm in winter. This doesn’t require more introduction.

Most commonly found in sarees, Khadi is one of the most comfortable textiles. Here is ikikai’s spin at it, with modern Khadi trousers. Get yours at ikikai today!

kalamkari — Andhra Pradesh

Kalamkari is a type of hand-painted or block-printed cotton textile. There are two distinctive styles of kalamkari art in India — the Srikalahasti style and the Machilipatnam style. The Srikalahasti style of kalamkari is done using a pen for freehand drawing of pattern and filling in the colours, is entirely hand worked. Machilipatnam style of Kalamkari work involves vegetable Dyed block-painting of a fabric.

Though used in many garments like sarees and kurtas, here you can see kalamkari being used in a sling bang as patchwork. Grab your kalamkari sling only at ikikai.

chikankari embroidery — Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh

Chikankari is an art, which results in the transformation of the plainest cotton and organdie into flowing yards of magic. The word ‘Chikan’ steps from a Persian word derived from ‘Chic’, which referred to the ‘Jali’ work done on marble or wood. Chikankari is a long-running or darning stitch worked with six strands on the right side of the fabric taken over four threads and picking up one. Other styles of embroidery are backstitch, chain stitch, bakhiya, jail work, etc.

Commonly used in kurtas and tops, chikankari embroidery is popular all across India and is very easily recognisable. Here is ikikai’s subtle use of embroidery on the border of a Chanderi silk saree to elevate the garment.

ikat fabric — Pochampalli, Hyderabad

This double ikat textile is known for its geometric pattern and intentional bleed. The process used to do so is known as Resist Dyeing also called ikat, wherein a host of methods are used to prevent the dye from spreading all across the fabric. The place ‘Pochampally’ got its place in the UNESCO World Heritage site as a part of the iconic weaving cluster of India.

Here is a beautiful handwoven ikat saree available only at ikikai.

pashmina — Kashmir

Pashmina is made from the fineness of the cream coloured goat’s wool having intricate embroidery. Pashmina meaning soft gold in Kashmiri, some designs are hand block printed and those blocks sometimes date back to more than 100 years. It takes a week to get a single shawl of pashmina. Hand embroidery is done on the shawl which takes more time to make it an end product. The tedious work makes it one of the costliest fabric.

Find pashmina shawls at ikikai, but one of my favourite takes on the soft warm fabric is a kimono!

These are some of the most famous and unique textiles from India. These textiles have been developed over time and their production has been passed on through generations. They reflect the culture of the people from the different regions in which they are produced. Find your favourite textile and more at ikikai and support Indian artisans and weavers. Many of ikikai’s pieces are handwoven with love specially curated for textile connoisseurs.  This is a great way to preserve Indian art. They are staples that will elevate the worth of your wardrobe and make you feel good about contributing to India’s artisans and their art. https://ikikai.co/