Born out of the need to provide steady opportunities to India’s skilled artisan communities, Grassroot translates heirloom traditions from the heart of Indian villages into contemporary, sustainable fashion for the globetrotting woman.
The birthplace of Grassroot, India, is an untapped wealth of traditional skills. Skills that have been passed down through generations, beautifying and sustaining the aesthetic and economic veins of the country. Skills that now face an imminent danger — death by waning demand and easier processes.
We live in a ruthless world. A world of ruthless speed and ruthless excess. In an endless pursuit of getting things done faster, forgetting the flipside.
Our mind can paint a grim picture of this world of the future. Of a world where intricate art gives way to superficial stamps where carefully crafted designs give way to robotic patches, where the delightful imperfections of handwoven cloth give way to lifeless textile, where the reds of the madder tree root give way to rivers of industrial waste, where the warmth of a human hand gives way to the steely thuds of machines.
We’re trying to flip the flipside
Grassroot is the marriage of a cultural heritage and a cultural revolution. Chic, urban silhouettes that are relevant to the woman of today’s world that still retain the priceless traditions of times past.
Grassroot is an instrument of change, making women artisans in-charge of their own lives.
They’re giving fashion the slow, steadfast care it and its makers deserve.
It’s painstaking and laborious, like all works of art. But so very soulful, like all works of art.
Handmade With Love: The handcrafted traditions of India are priceless. They are earth-friendly. They follow age-old processes and methods that are closest to nature and don't harm the environment. Grassroot works with artisans from India's remotest villages and partner with like-minded NGOs who are conscious of the need to protect our crafts and our planet.
The woman in the villages of India is a powerhouse. Single-handedly tackling everything, right from children to demanding families. She threads the existence of a family and when time permits, she threads the needle. The hands pulsating with skill give way to works of art. Stunning, intricate works of art that bloom, quietly within the confines of her home. It is this very woman, who is encouraged to work with at Grassroot.
The world of fashion is fickle, and we attempt to keep the craft traditions alive by constantly helping the artisans cater to the demands of today.
For the woman of the world, for the woman in villages, and for her generations to come.
The history of Chikankari dates back to the third century BC. Hand-carved wooden blocks are used to print patterns onto fabric. Women in rural India then embroider onto those patterns in up to 32 different stitches to create timelessly elegant garments.
Hand embroidery is crafted in various regions, each producing a unique design that can be traced back to its origin. The custodians of these age-old crafts take years to master it, even generations when this intricate.
For over 500 years, artisans have perfected the art of weaving the beautiful Bhujodi fabric through diligent practice. Adorned with intricate designs and finished with indigenous techniques in hand, it takes a weaver months to create this fabric.
Skilled women artisans tie tight knots in fabric while men carefully dye fabric to the right hue, creating mesmerising patterns. Natural dyeing techniques revived in this craft result in limited colour fastness, adding to the uniqueness of this garment.
Intricately woven by hand, Chanderi weaving is a tradition over five centuries old, kept alive by only 12,000 weavers today. This distinctive sheer fabric is slowly dying out to cheap industrial replicas.
Jamdani is thought of as the art of loom embroidery. Intricate motifs are added onto the warp by hand, producing vibrant patterns. The entire process is extremely time-intensive, taking an artisan one day to weave every half a metre.
Block printing is a slow process but highly rewarding. It begins with an artisan chipping and chiselling a block of wood into an intricately patterned stamp. These blocks are then used to stamp dyes (or mud in some cases) onto fabric to give birth to beautiful block printed stories.
Yarns are bound together in the desired pattern and dyed, then set up on a loom and handwoven. Since the surface design is created in the yarns rather than on the finished cloth, both fabric faces are beautifully patterned. Natural dyeing techniques revived in this craft result in limited colour fastness, adding to the uniqueness of this garment.
Linen is produced from the stem of flax — a plant that demands little of the earth. Made using laborious earth-friendly processes, it gets better with age and handling. It is durable, hypo-allergenic and extremely breathable. Being a natural insulator, it keeps you cool in summer and warm in winter.
The bark of trees, plants and leaves lend their natural colour to yarn which is hand-dyed by artisans. These dyes are limited in their colour fastness, and when handwoven, create a fabric that is unique in its dyeing variations.
Kala cotton is watered by the rains and grown without the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilisers. It is then picked, spun into yarn and woven into fabric—all by hand. Truly organic, it encourages sustainable textile production and revives traditional farming practices. Natural dyeing techniques result in limited colour fastness, making this garment unique.