Radhika Merchant Ambani Brings Centuries-Old Kalamkari Into a Contemporary Fashion Frame

A cloth with centuries-old historyThe word Kalamkari comes from the Persian kalam, meaning pen, and the name fits a textile art in which detailed motifs and mythological tales are drawn by hand. The craft is most closely tied to Andhra Pradesh.

Kalamkari has never needed an excuse to be admired, and this time it gets to be gorgeously theatrical. Radhika Merchant Ambani's latest look, by Mayyur Girotra in collaboration with Swadesh and styled by Rhea Kapoor, takes the centuries-old craft of painting on cloth by hand and gives it a silhouette with real swagger.

Indian textiles now sit comfortably in contemporary wardrobes, cut into skirts, corsets and other shapes, and they are holding their own in the world of Western tailoring.

The outfit is a canvas, quite literally. Swadesh's artisans painted it by hand with scenes of Krishna Leela, a celebration of divine pastoral life, alongside Kalpavriksha, the Tree of Life. Peacocks strut, sacred cows wander, lotus blossoms open and floral vines curl through the lot.

Girotra then took over, sculpting the silhouette and tracing each painted motif in zardozi, pitta, dabka and appliqué. The metallic work glints with every step, turning a painting into something closer to sculpture.

The palette is soft and antique. A strapless sweetheart corset in warm gold, worked with metallic florals, sits above a ruched skirt . The dupatta falls over one shoulder, carrying the same print through the whole look. Gold jhumkas, a delicate choker and a single pink lotus finish it.

Girotra described the collaboration as one that preserves the provenance and craftsmanship of each textile tradition, "placing the handmade and its makers at the heart of contemporary design."

A cloth with centuries-old historyThe word Kalamkari comes from the Persian kalam, meaning pen, and the name fits a textile art in which detailed motifs and mythological tales are drawn by hand. The craft is most closely tied to Andhra Pradesh.

According to Impart, it was first called vraata pani, Telugu for "writing work". It took the name Kalamkari in the 16th century, under the Qutb Shahi dynasty. Nobody knows exactly where it began, but the oldest surviving pieces date to the 15th and 16th centuries. Many were made as trade cloth for Southeast Asia, which suggests the craft was popular there long before those pieces were made.

The craft is now legally protected. Srikalahasti Kalamkari received its Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2006, and Machilipatnam Kalamkari followed in 2009.

Each major centre developed its own themes and style. Machilipatnam made canopies with mythological scenes for Hindu patrons, prayer mats for Muslim buyers, floral tents for royal courts and chintz yardage for European markets. Its printing and dyeing trade flourished from the mid-19th century and shrank in the 20th.

Madurai was known for a deep red dye with a distinct richness. Its Kalamkari was worked on coarse cloth in only two colours, red and black.

Srikalahasti, a temple town near Tirupati, is where the practice is still alive. Its history may go back further than the 15th and 16th centuries, but old textiles decay easily and written records are scarce, so the claim cannot be confirmed. Local landlords, the zamindars, backed the craft, mostly through commissions for temple cloth. That support faded in the 1930s and 1940s, as India gained independence and the zamindari system ended. The All India Handicrafts Board later revived the tradition with a production and training centre at Panagal, on the outskirts of Srikalahasti, and the Weavers' Service Centre also gave artisans training and commissions.