Silk Cities - Ikat In The Making

Silk Cities is our newest edition launched in April 2015.

Practised from Guatemala to Okinawa, ikat is a heritage craft of incredible diversity. This globally dispersed artisan craft is is a tie and dye technique where yarns are resist dyed to achieve the final textile pattern in weaving. In Central Asia, the technique was traditionally called "abrbandi," a combination of the Persian words for "cloud" and "workshop." Patterns are conceived on graph paper in a grid form, and then translated onto the warp and weft of the yarn by tying and dying. Only when the yarns are woven together does the final pattern emerge in a tapestry of meaning. The most prized ikat was often found in Central Asia and traded along the Silk Road.

We travelled to Koyyalagudem in the Pochampally district of South India, an area that has been practicing this master craft for hundreds of years. Staying in the home of Srinath, our master ikat weaver who taught us the intricate ropes of ikat. Witnessing how every household is part and parcel of a wider cultural and economic ecosystem, we were moved to tell the story of its making and excited about exploring its many forms worldwide.

In this edition we explore 5 motifs indigenous to 5 cities along this trade route: Bukhara | Uzbekistan, Leh | India, Byzantium | Istanbul, Hamadan | Persia and Dunhuang | China. Colours of ombre, indigo, cerulean, sand yellow. Alongside plain loom fabrics of white weft and coloured warp for dual tonality. 3 new styles of unisex pants.
Each of the prints carry a motif taken from archives of rugs and tapestries in that area.

Colours of ombre, indigo, cerulean, sand yellow. Alongside plain loom fabrics of white weft and coloured warp for dual tonality.