PRESS RELEASE – Nov 2015
MATTER is a socially motivated brand that values thoughtful design and provenance, offering affordable luxury travel wear to discerning modern nomads. The cause is to create conscious clothing – functional, timeless designs that champion sustainable artisanal production and business practices. Working closely with their artisanal partners in India, product integrity and community integration are valued traits in MATTER’s ethos.
The Threads&Hands edition celebrates an ancient weaving technique called Jamdani, the fourth artisan technique used by MATTER since launching in May 2014. This edition comprises 3 motifs in 6 colourways for 6 scarves altogether. The three motifs are Shunya, Eksa, and Jamiti, meaning Zero, X and Geometry. These are crafted in chambray swathes and bold stripes woven in the finest muslin from a community in Habibpur, where each scarf passes through twenty to thirty pairs of hands from yarn to finished piece.
Jamdani is an ancient artisan craft emerging from the patronage of imperial warrants from Mughal emperors. Considered the most artistic and finest of Bengali craftsmanship, each thread of every motif is hand woven into the finest muslin on the loom. Shaded with a modern chambray effect, this luxurious limited edition draws from timeless geometric motifs woven into constellations of modern day grace.
Now on its 4th technique with a new artisan community in Habibpur, MATTER collaborated with New Delhi based designer, Sonica Kapur for this edition, who incubated this artisan group for 7 months prior to the collaboration. She drew inspiration from old jamdani motifs to reinterpret heritage and modernity, old and new.
MOTIFS
Shunya means zero, and therefore also origins. In Indian spiritual tradition it is the beginning that encompasses the end. This motif is an ode to the eternal traditions of textile artisanship that resurrects again after centuries, and represents insight, clarity and awakening.
Eksa signifies the primal symbol X. It represents cross roads and the unity of opposites. In certain cultures this shape also signifies the butterfly, a symbol identified with the concept of immortality, metamorphosis, and the soul’s journey home.
Jamiti translates to geometry and, in this context, signifies the unity that underlies the sacred geometry in primal shapes and the creative elements of the universe.
Jamdani-literally meaning “flower-pot” bears its origin in Central Asian culture and was brought to India by the Mughals during their rule. The weaving process is done wherein small shuttles of threads are passed through the weft. Two weavers sit alongside each other at the loom and add every discontinuous supplementary weft motif separately, by hand, interlacing the supplementary weft threads into the warp with fine bamboo sticks in a zigzag manner using individual spools of thread.
A tremendous amount of patience, time and effort is put into creating this collection of art on the loom, where each scarf passes through twenty to thirty pairs of hands from yarn to finished piece. The entire process from yarn spinning, dying, weaving and embroidery takes up to 63 days.
The Jamdani Scarf Threads&Hands edition comes in a total of 6 colorways on the finest fabric: a luxuriously soft, handloomed and hand-spun cotton muslin, with delicately hand embroidered motifs and full cotton tassels.
Available online from 19th November at www.matterprints.com. Retail price US$149 with FREE shipping worldwide.