BENARASI BEHOLD

The ghats of Benaras are known, not just for the many ritualistic tales that have graced the Ganges, but also for a living and thriving weave tradition that dates back to manyThe ghats of Benaras are known, not just for the many ritualistic tales that have graced the Ganges, but also for a living and thriving weave tradition that dates back to many centuries. Many precious weaves; fabulous embroideries and legendary costumes, crafted in Benaras have inspired the world. centuries. Many precious weaves; fabulous embroideries and legendary costumes, crafted in Benaras have inspired the world.

WEAVERSTORY

Nishant Malhotra and Sujith Nair, the founders of WeaverStory began their journey on August 8, 2015 on National Handloom Day to promote and preserve the dying art of Indian handlooms and also to remove the perception of handlooms being luxury products as promoted by large stores.

WeaverStory

Today WeaverStory is probably the largest online retailer of Handloom. Nishant says, “To date, there are about 68 lakh artisans in India and among them, 55 per cent comprise women. This contributes largely to the impact on women empowerment as well as the development of Indian art and craft community.”

Probably that is the reason behind WeaverStory engaging more and more women in their business. They work with the women amongst weavers and help them with required skill education through workshops on saree finishing, tassel making, etc ensuring they become financially stronger and independent.

While their colours or the prints, maybe contemporary, the handloom collection by WeaverStory promises to retain the timeless charm of yesteryear. Their colour palette, on the other hand, is more contemporary, featuring pastel shades that are more popular today. Nishant adds, “The handloom industry has a lot of potential and young India is fascinated and excited to explore the depth of this industry where the real India lies. They have the zeal to blend the heritage of Indian handicrafts with modern technology and trends.”

HOUSE OF RAISONS

House of Raisons is a fashion brand specialising in heritage Indian textiles, with a contemporary outlook. Along with bringing innovation in age-old techniques, every textile in the House of Raisons is handwoven and handcrafted.

House of Raisons

Gaurav Rai who is at the helm of affairs calls the current collection – ‘A Summer in Benaras’. This collection is inspired by the unending possibilities seen, experienced and felt in the city of Benaras.
“The skill and craftsmanship of this magnificent city can not just be limited to wedding sarees and lehengas. – this thought gave birth to ‘A SUMMER IN BENARAS’, a collection of crisp breezy smart casuals in cotton fabrics woven using the “ fekua “ cutwork technique from Benaras”, explains Gaurav.
The collection kurta-pants are very breezy with a touch of benarasipana that adds subtle glam to them. Indeed a fashionable wear for the summers.

SHANTI BANARAS

The name is self-explanatory. Shanti Banaras is the retail arm of 70-year-old family business – Yashri Ghanshyam Nilesh Silks. Amrit Shah, a third-generation entrepreneur and Creative Director at Shanti Banaras, says, “A lot of young women in India are not draping sarees and one of the many reasons is the disconnect with the beautiful garment. My idea has been to make sarees that appeal to the younger lot.”

Shanti Banaras

Shanti Banaras is based in Benaras and truly embodies the very fabric of this mystical city that is ‘older than history’ itself. Shanti Banaras is a weave-driven manufacturing unit. Since its inception 70 years ago, it has been manufacturing benarasi sarees.
Amrit stresses, “During COVID a lot of our production has been hampered. Earlier in the first wave, production was not that affected. People were still producing but due to the lockdown, there were no sales. Now, a lot of our weavers and our people are getting affected. We work online and video call, but when a client can physically walk in it makes a greater difference as compared to talking on the phone. Benarasi sarees are not a commercialised product, they are very personalised. Some things may look good in a photo, some may not. The true beauty behind the product and the choices made by the weaver cannot be explained without physically seeing the saree. The customer needs to be there.”

Shanti Banaras

Shanti Banaras’ “Navrasa” collection is amazing as each “Rasa” is beautifully woven into the saree.

SACRED WAVES

Sacred Weaves was founded five decades ago by Shruti Gupta Shah to revive the Indian handloom industry and specially the legendary benarasi. She started with a vision to provide local and global customers the authentic Indian handloom and authentic and unadulterated weaves of India.

Sacred Weaves

“Sacred Weaves make our heritage alive by making genuine and pure products, which can be passed on through generations, a mother to a daughter and to her daughter and many more generations afterwards. Hence the company weaves and promotes the products and fabric that are sustainable,” says Shruti.

The mission is to bring back the excellence of Benaras to each family’s closet and the mission of Sacred Weaves has stayed the same even if the reins have gone to the next generation.
Sacred Weaves deals in pure silk benarasi sarees and benarasi dupattas. Mostly katan silk, tussar silk, cotton silk, kora silk, moonga silk and khadi silk are used in manufacturing the gorgeous benarasi sarees.