Riding the ethnic wave

PUSHPA CHARI

DRAPING THE fashion conscious of Chennai in ethnic elegance using myriad weaves, textures and colours of India is Shilpi. It is celebration time for the boutique, which has been creating magic for over 20 years.

Over the years, Shilpi has been offering choices as varied as the exquisite Dhakai, Benarasi, Tanghail and Maheshwari, the charming Chanderi and block prints, the magic of Orissa's ikkat, in silks, crepes and tussars.

The boutique has several firsts to its credit — it launched the first ever line of salwar kurta ensembles created out of South Indian fabrics, the first to showcase Orissa's ikkats in the city, and the first boutique to showcase textiles from every region of India. And that too in the bastion of the famed Kanchipuram silk!Shilpi won over Chennai with its subtlety and beauty in weave, textile and design, using traditional motifs.

It all began when two women, Arundhati Menon and Bhamini Narayanan, packed as part of their dream, arresting Bengal cotton saris in two trunks and had their first Shilpi sale way back in 1980! With the firm resolve of bringing the many splendoured textile wealth of the country to the city's fashion firmament, Arundhati and Bhamini travelled to remote regions of the country, looking for the unusual and even languishing weaves.

And out of those unforgettable journeys was born the Shilpi collection, with its unmistakable stamp of elegance.

Over the years, exhibitions organised by Shilpi became the talk of the town. People welcomed the carefully selected Paithanis, Pochampallis, Uppadas, Maheswaris, Venkatagiris and Kanchipurams as well as little known Vidarbhas, Ilkas, Patolas and Gajji silks, and much more.

Alongside, Shilpi also worked at textile embellishment with the embroidery and other craft traditions of the country such as zardosi, crewel and sozani, kantha, sujini, rabari, chikankari, kasuti, kalamkari and block prints... all integrated into sarees, salwar kurta ensembles as well as table and bed linen.

Each exhibition was a runaway success, revealing yet another facet of the texture and craft heritage of the country. Incidentally, Shilpi's 21st birthday offering to its customers is an exhibition of painted kalamkari sarees in tussar, now on view at Gee Gee Minar, College Road, and C.P. Ramaswamy Road, Alwarpet.

In a city where boutiques spring up in every street corner, why does Shilpi evoke such a response? For actress Suhasini Manirathnam, a self-confessed Shilpi loyalist, ``It is perhaps the blend of South India and Bengal which attracts me. Also, the saris are simple and not too flamboyant. I am always proud of wearing their saris''.

It is the of essential Indianess of motifs and texture that is Shilpi's USP for danseuse Chitra Visweswaran, who says, "Everything Shilpi has is unique and exclusive. I don't have to sift through a lot of stuff to choose from''.

For advertising executive Suguna Swami, "Shilpi offers simply the best textiles in the country, apart from the exclusive embellishments. There is so much to choose from. I never leave the shop without buying something... "Shilpi's mystique will continue, based on its deep commitment to India's craft and textile heritage.

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