TEXTILE AND FASHION: IN CONVERSATION WITH SANJAY GARG OF RAW MANGO

At the occasion of the launch of Raw Mango’s fifth flagship store in Chennai, I had a long conversation with Sanjay Garg, the founder of Raw Mango over traditional Indian textiles and resurgence of the use of traditional textiles and traditional Indian craftsmanship in Indian fashion. We also spoke about the business of fashion and the role of textile in the fashion design business. And of course the beautiful and spacious new Raw Mango store in Mumbai.

The Chennai store is spread over two levels and has ten rooms where the merchandise are displayed as they are showcased in a gallery. There is absolute synchronisation of Raw Mango’s design aesthetics with the store’s art deco look.

The store has Raw Mango’s summer 2022 merchandise that is titled Chorus. Sarees, textiles are garments in summery hues of Angoori, Sharbati, Sorbet and Lime in Organza and Silk brocades adorn the store.

Sanjay Garg who had just returned from Italy made an interesting observation that top global fashion houses and designers spend 70% of their time in discovering and developing textiles and fabrics and probably the balance 30% time goes into designing the shapes and silhouettes. Sanjay too spends considerable time at different textile clusters of India. He said for his current collection he has been to Benaras from where his silk brocades are sourced, to Madhya Pradesh from where chanderi is developed and also to Andhra Pradesh, the hub of Ikat weave.

I asked why we are seeing a resurgence of traditional Indian textiles when they have been here for centuries? Garg opined, “People are getting more conscious about natural fibres and the rich heritage of India’s textile.” He also said that there has been a lot of input made by textile designers and fashion designers to improve and innovate upon the traditional weaves. New techniques have been introduced, new and modern colours and motifs have made the textiles compatible with contemporary fashion. Technique has been used to improve the tensile strength of natural yarns so they don’t tear-apart. Textiles woven for sarees cannot be used for stitching garments as they do not fall well. There is a process of degumming involved to make the weaves less stiff and fall well as a stitched garment.

Our conversation veered towards chanderi, a weave abundantly used for summer wear. Raw Mango’s summer 2022 collection – Chorus too used chanderi. Sanjay Garg said, “chanderi is a very delicate fabric. It breathes well and hence is summer friendly. Chanderi cannot be used for fitted silhouettes. I would never use chanderi to make a blouse as it will tear apart. I have used chanderi for ‘away-from-the-body’ silhouettes. I also use lining for chanderi tops as the fabric is sheer.” Sanjay said that Indian traditional textiles have to be respected and used for what they are traditionally woven for.

The traditional craftsmanship from Bengal- kantha is an artisanal skill that has been employed by designers off and on. Kantha has traditionally been used in Bengal to make throws and quilts from used sarees. Mothers and grandmothers stitched patches of used cotton sarees to make a soft and comfortable quilt for a newborn just like in some parts of India mothers and grandmothers knit socks for newborns. Over time this artisanal technique became an embellishment technique. On probing, Sanjay Garg revealed that his winter 2022 collection will have a lot of kantha work. Not willing to reveal much, Sanjay said, “I have collaborated with an NGO in Murshidabad in West Bengal for my kantha range. The project will give gainful employment to local women.” Further elaborating on his work with an NGO, Sanjay said, “ I am not in agreement with the term ‘Ethical Fashion’. Every business has to be ethical. I believe in working ethically in whatever I do”. I couldn’t agree more.

Coming back to Raw Mango’s growing business, Sanjay Garg said that the wedding wear part of his label has definitely given the business a boost. He further added, “Sarees are getting universal. It’s no longer an occasional wear. More and more women are wearing sarees to lunches and dinners. Even we get buyers who are in their 20s on our Instagram page. The new buyers understand the flaws of natural fabrics and accept that there would be uneven knots that are part of natural fibres in the weaves.”

I brought up the topic of heirloom weaves becoming an asset class in the near future. Just like people are trading on Sneakers like Nike’s Jordan range that are being bought and resold for profit on various platforms, time would come for people to buy heirloom Benarasis, Kanjeevarams and Patolas to resell them for profit. Sanjay said, “Wow! It’s an excellent idea. Hope this comes to fruition soon. It would help the textile revivalists, designers and weavers immensely.”