Clothing often carries rich meanings beyond style, serving as a visual language for politics, identity, and agency. This Independence Day, let’s unravel the threads of India’s fabric story, from the looms to the freedom struggle to today’s renewed fight to protect artisanal crafts.
During India’s struggle for independence, clothing itself became an act of protest. Mahatma Gandhi’s choice to wear hand-spun khadi was a call for swadeshi - self-reliance - and an outright rejection of British-made cloth. Khadi-clad crowds silently boycotted imperial fabrics during the Non-Cooperation and Quit India movements. Thread by thread, khadi became the “fabric of freedom.”
Today, the stakes are different, but the sentiment is the same. Fast fashion, mass production, and global supply chains threaten to erase centuries-old Indian weaving traditions, replacing them with uniformity and waste. Reviving and supporting India’s artisanal crafts is not only about globalising Indian fabrics, but about safeguarding livelihoods, preserving cultural memory, and making conscious choices that value people and the planet.
Only in recent years has interest swung back, with policy initiatives and citizen movements reembracing khadi and handloom as a sustainable, homegrown style.
Weaving a Renaissance: Traditional Crafts Today
In the last decade, the country has seen a “modern renaissance” in textiles. With about 2.8 million Indian handloom weavers, producing roughly 15% of the world’s handloom output, efforts are underway to make handcrafted textiles aspirational again. Government initiatives like the Handloom Mark, alongside NGOs, are promoting natural fibres and plant-based dyes, aligning craftsmanship with sustainability. Analysts report these crafts are moving from niche to mainstream.
Khadi remains a powerful emblem of self-reliance, recalling its central role in India’s freedom movement. Across the country, weavers are reviving traditional weaving techniques, from Khadi to the rare Kotpad Ikat of Odisha, which now find a place in modern wardrobes. Designers around the globe are embracing Khadi, Ikat, Kalamkari, and other handwoven fabrics on the runway, recognising their longevity and cultural resonance in a fast-fashion world. Artisans are also returning to organic dyeing methods - indigo vats, onion reds, turmeric yellows. Heritage prints and patterns are also being reimagined, with Ajrakh, Bagru, Bandhani, and Leheriya finding their way into contemporary cuts, while embroidery styles like Kantha and Phulkari make their mark in everyday fashion.
Beyond technique, these crafts tell stories. Odisha’s Pattachitra, once confined to scroll paintings and souvenirs, now appears in streetwear collections by Kunsquad, who has adapted hand-painted Pattachitra onto shirts, proving that folklore and fashion can seamlessly blend. Even simple T-shirts are being transformed with Khadi or Kantha embroidery, bridging heritage with casual wear.
The digital age has also brought new life to these traditions. Online platforms and community-driven marketplaces are connecting rural weavers and dyers directly to global buyers, enabling them to share their process, secure funding, and sell without intermediaries. Consumers, in turn, gain traceability, knowing exactly who made their garment and how it was created.
In every garment, echoes the ideals of Swadeshi: self-reliance, sustainability, and cultural pride. Just as Gandhi championed weaving and village industries a century ago, today’s designers, artisans, and brands like Kunsquad are spinning those values into the future. In the end, every stitch and print is part of the same tapestry: a living legacy of rebellion, pride, and craftsmanship.
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