Meghalaya spuns a fashion fabric and the French weaves it into couture

He looked tense while supervising the frame work of the exhibition at the French Embassy. "You know how it is," says Hemant Sagarr, "at least there's been no fist fights while putting this up." he smiles. Sagar is showcasing the first exhibition that consists of very creative designs, jewellery, and art installations created by new fibre Ramie that’s grown plenty ( harvested at least) four times in Meghalaya. So Ramie is the Meghalaya fabric that can be woven into beautiful garments, is perfectly eco friendly and breathable  and you can create anything - from rug to robe.

So how did the fabric come to Hemant. "I was in Meghalaya where my friend is growing this plant in plenty. He wanted to create something out of it, at the same time I got a call from the French embassy saying they wanted to work on a project and everything worked out beautifully, thus came the fibre to fashion project," he says.

The project, under the curation of Hemant Sagarr, entrusted 17 Designers from across the country with the fabrics that were woven out of the first batch of the new harvest of Ramie, in December, to create apparel or décor, using their imagination. The designers were selected with the help of co-curator Caroline Young, based on their creativity, dedication, originality and raw talent paired with an extraordinary aesthetic.  The designers are an excited group being part of this initiative and being among the first set of designers to use this new textile.

The brief given to them by Hemant was pretty much a 'no-brief', a ‘carte blanche’: barring traditional garments, they could create anything. The goal was to highlight and celebrate the new Meghalaya fabric "Ramie" in a modern manner. The new weaving has given some softness to a sturdy and sustainable fabric intended for proper wear and tear.

"It is very important to understand that fashion, before anything else, is a huge global industry and a massive part of our economy as well. Our aim was to leverage India's strength in the field of textile and marrying it into the creations by these extraordinary designers. The Meghalaya government along with the French Institute in India have made it possible for us to stand here tonight and witness our intuitions come to life. We are so thankful to all the designers for agreeing to put their creativity at the service of Ramie and helping us showcase the importance of collaboration between farmers, government, industry and design," says Sagarr.

He plans to take it further with exhibitions in three museums in France and "maybe even the Far East Japan". Wishing him all the very best for this wonder fibre already.

The exhibition at the French Embassy

One of the participant Shristi Arora's contemporary jewellery design

Design by Savio Jon

Design by Peachoo Singh