Cotton Sari with strip patchwork

This sari is joined as a steadfast stitch of many panels. Each panel is lined with a striped edging, subtly bringing out the intricate stitching involved in making a sari like this. To create a casual, nonchalant appeal of the sari, the pallu is crafted as a continuous patchwork of the smallest textile pieces bound together into vertical striped patches, giving the sari a natural gravity towards a drop-down drape. 

In 2009, when I was acquainting myself with textiles across the country, I realised how much textile waste is created as “damaged or injured” saris. While the endeavour of the handloom industry is to support the weavers and the traditional weaves, one has to make rather very small human errors in the weaves for them to be discarded as damaged. This bothered me very much.

So, the beginning of Mora was based on the decision to create a design solution that could accommodate any shape and size of textiles that would otherwise make it to waste hills. This decision gave me the confidence that the purpose of textile waste management is an essential aspect of Mora design. I needed to not only look at the waste with different eyes in our workshop but also create a prototype that can enable others to look at it differently, too. This made me choose Saris, which could be stitched! Over a few months, dupattas stoles and shawls started to emerge, too, and Mora was born.

A constant has been kept alive where the workshop is handled by my dear mother, who has given tangibility to this vision. She meticulously manages and segregates each smallest piece of fabric that appears in the process of stitching and those become our gold mine to cull out wonders from!

Latika is a one-of-a-kind textile designed to highlight a unique coming together of various techniques and creativity of handcraft. This design will not be recreated. Latika comes with a blouse fabric designed to encourage Mora fireflies to bring their authentic spirit to the fabrication of blouse fit, usage of borders and edgings. The blouse worn by me is not included.

Param did the beadwork

Gurmail, the tailor

Cotton is woven with Amlawati, Arunachal Pradesh

Mumma, Madhu, patchwork technical eyes and segregating hands

Midtoan.com, the photographer

Designed by Ritika