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Aadyam’s Ikat is not chevron stripes, mountainous abstract curves or hyper colours that local and machine-woven brands have made popular. There is subtle geometry and floral motifs, paan leaf motifs or upside down hearts- as you want to imagine, and even tigers woven in single Ikat patterns. The colours are grey, silver, baby pink, yellow and maroon. If you’ve believed Ikat is blurry chevron so far, prepare to be shocked. This is the country’s skillset at its highest. Instead of opening their store in Hyderabad next to the line of designer stores in Jubilee and Banjara Hills, Aadyam stands proudly inside the Telangana Craft Council’s building, next to textile brands like Malkha (indigo experts), Music of Loom and Creyo. If they were trying to make a point about their commitment to crafts, it was well received.
Candid notes from our conversation with Manish Saksena:
There is a popular idea right now: modernisation of Indian weaves equals to Western silhouettes, for example, a pantsuit made in Benarsi brocade or an Ikat bralette; Aadyam Handloom defines this differently, can you elaborate?
MS: Many a time, in the name of modernization, the craft is minimised. The whole endeavour at Aadyam is to make handloom relevant today. We are all for artisanal textiles having multiple uses, whether that is Western shapes or sarees. But when great international brands like Dior use handloom, it signals that a global audience at large is ready. Our home linen line especially addresses this. We designed it in a manner so that any home in the world could use it.
What makes your creation an Aadyam piece?
MS: First: Keep the signature of the craft alive. You should immediately be able to say which craft and cluster a piece came from. Second: The price and skill matrix is met. If a weaver has invested time in making something complex, he should be compensated accordingly, but at the same time, our store pieces are competitively priced. Third: there has to be some kind of twist to it- with sarees we often hear women say they have something similar already. We ensure a one-of-a-kind curation for all textiles. For eg- Gyaser cushion covers, are something rarely seen in retail stores.
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