The project was directed at exploring new media in textile printing techniques. Digital textile printing was the technique selected to be explored. The project looked forward to a range of two to five collections of sarees with 10-25 sarees in each collection intended for the Indian upper middle class market segment.
Digital textile printing has made the application of any number of colours and tones on fabric through printing, feasible and thus possible. The technology has also made quick and hassle-free production possible; thus, enjoying a very advantageous position in the field of future technology of textile printing. My diploma project was an attempt to understand this new technology and research and apply newer possibilities of surface styles using this technology. Final application was rendered on marketable products with special emphasis on sarees.
Research and study for development of innovative surface compositions, colour interaction, form, counter form and visual effects through digital printing on textile formed the core of the project, which was to be later developed into a range of sarees. The user segment identity, i.e. age group, and cultural background, were to be identified after market study/initial research.
This project provided an opportunity for me as a designer, to identify areas that had potential. In the process of design, I had to create a contemporary form of expression that reinforced links of the past and thus, preserved the traditional idiom and maintained its relevance with a fresh design aesthetic. In terms of learning, this project provided me an opportunity to blend my interest in print-making/graphic design and apparel, by allowing me to explore with five metres of unrepeated print effects, through colours, fabric structures, textures, etc., and applying them to the dimensions of the human body effectively.
