Young Designers 2011

		Young Designers 2011
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Archana Manoharan | arc2ana@gmail.com

Imprints: Contemporary hand block prints

Textile Design | GDPD
Guide: Romanie Jaitly
Sponsor: RASA Textile & Clothing Co., Jaipur

Keywords
Hand block-prints
Contemporary
Women’s wear
Exclusive Indian textiles

My project comprised three mainly print-based collections for Rasa. With sophisticated aesthetics and excellence in quality, Rasa has created its own unique identity. Their products are exclusive and cater to the upper segments of both domestic and export markets.

The project required a hands-on approach. I was involved at all stages, from the conceptualization of the look in keeping with the company’s print identity to the development of initial concepts, sampling, technique and colour and finally the product.

My first collection comprised a set of seven surfaces, inspired by the Gond art of Central India. They were designed specifically for women’s wear i.e. dresses, tops, tunics and stoles. The swatch was developed through three different colour stories. The second collection was a set of prints inspired by Indian landscapes depicted in miniature paintings but with a contemporary twist. The idea was to explore scale and size in block-printing. The surfaces developed were for engineered prints on lower-body garments. The colour story was neutral, with greys and black, as per the client’s demand. For the third collection, I wanted to be highly experimental and explorative. I started with small experiments such as dripping colour on fabric, spraying, rubbing, creating textures using random objects such as brushes, dropper, wood, bamboo sticks, etc., and then moved on to techniques such as shibori, tie-dye, marbling and cloqué using block-printing. The effect of irregular bleeding of wet dyes on wet fabric was used for a range of stoles and a set of garments.

Through this experience, I acquired a thorough understanding of the infrastructure of a company, its ideology, brand identity, its working and client base. I also got comprehensive overview of the different phases of product development, from initial market research to final product viability.