Rakesh Thakore co-curates textile exhibition

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 29, 2018

The Indian fashion designer Rakesh Thakore has co-curated an in depth exhibition on Indian textiles that is currently running in the capital.

The exhibition, named 'A Search in Five Directions', aims to celebrate the public contribution to traditional Indian textiles by Martand Singh, the last Maharaja of the state of Rewa. Rakesh Thakore, one half of the fashion design brand Abraham and Thakore, has curated a selection of traditional Indian textiles from across the country that both showcase Indian craftsmanship and serve as highlights from the series of seven textile art and history exhibitions called ‘Vishwakarma- Master Weavers’ that took place between 1981 and 1991 and was worked on by Singh. 

The exhibition opened on January 21 and will run until March 31, 2018, at the National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New Delhi. Thakore curated the exhibition alongside Rta Kapur Chishti. The exhibition features a selection of textiles and garments including saree from Orissa with detailed calligraphy across the entire length of the unstitched cloth and a piece of textile art with a jamdani and kalamkari medley on. “It’s called the Kodalikarupur sari, and the combination of the two techniques are extraordinary,” said Rakesh Thakore about the piece.

Traditional textiles are having somewhat of a revival in both the Indian fashion industry and indeed in politics. The Indian government’s “Make in India” campaign strives to increase domestic production, including in the textile sector, and many high end designers, notably Ainta Dongre, Gaurav Gupta, and Thakore himself, are championing traditional weaves.