TRADITIONAL INDIAN TEXTILES: THE FUTURE IN THE WORLD FASHIONDr. (Mrs.) Parul Bhatnagar Faculty of Arts Dayalbagh Educational Institute (Deemed University) Dayalbagh, Agra. Textiles have occupied a prominent place in the world, in different geographic regions and in all climatic conditions, since ancient times. People naturally utilized whatever material was conveniently available; when they learnt weaving, garments were made. Over a period of time, the designing of textiles developed in the hands of artisans and they enriched fabric and garments. Contemporary textile designs reflect our spirit, our consciousness and the vibrancy of the society in which we live. This is how textile designing has evolved in India. The artisans and craftsmen have played a pivotal role in textile designing since prehistoric times. The vision vocabulary of the artisan and functional usage of a particular artifact have led to important contributions in the development of artistic designs. The division of techniques was not clear-cut and quite often one technique could flow into the other, and later there were variations in characteristic forms and styles. The preservation, revival and study of the best of the traditional designs and motifs is necessary to provide a guide to good craftsmanship. These designs embody the indigenous talents synthesized over time with new cultural impacts and the imagery of sign and symbol. Craftsmen today, too, create such crafts, the designs and ornamental motifs of which are truly characteristic of India, and these become the inspiration for future generations. The dates when specific patterns in textile designs appear and reappear are illuminating, for they help to show how motifs and styles repeat themselves. Often a pattern seems typical of a far later time than that of its actual making. All fashion arises at a particular moment in history. People demonstrate how they belong, where they are in place and time, by shaping the lines and colours of their clothes and furnishings in their homes. But there is nothing to be shaped except what is already there. To be original in traditional textile design is to make the best use of the old vocabulary of designs. A fresh modification of the old motif, ornamentation or design is generally how innovation is accepted in traditional textile designing. Traditional designs go back to mankind’s earliest times and belong to a very old tradition of symbols. Although reinvented several times, the basic art forms retained their shape and artistic appeal through the centuries. Like other art forms, traditional textile designs also link the past with the present. Through the centuries, the skill of the artisan has been employed for design creation or modification, not for documentation. Accordingly, the burden of documentation has fallen on museums, design centers and archives. In this research work, traditional Indian textile designs were accessed wherever they could be found. A large number of designs from all over India were classified and documented on the basis of chronology, region and technique, for ease of evaluation. A few 1 designs have also been created for the first time by digitizing the traditional design symbols and modifying them into similar new forms using specialized computer technology, reflecting the fusion of modern technology with traditional art. The traditional textile design symbols may now be digitally modified, according to need and function. This will enrich the library of traditional art symbols and give a fresh direction and a new dimension to the revival of traditional Indian design. These designs have been documented on CD-ROM media, in accordance with my primary objective of preservation, for revival and study. The changing roles of the artisans, craftsmen and designers are emphasized in the context of emerging technology that is capable of facilitating the preservation, dissemination and generation of new designs based on traditional forms, and also offers enhanced capabilities in terms of colour variety and colour differentiation. It is hoped that this will lead to a renaissance in the field of traditional textile designing. Indian traditional designs can be innovatively used today by interchanging motifs and their ornamentations for serving the world of fashion and increasing awareness about our rich cultural heritage. This research work further reflects the fact that real art knows no confines, strictures or bond. The presentation is subdivided into six parts. The presentation introduces the subject of traditional Indian textile designing in the first part by explaining the meaning, scope and significance of the subject. The second part looks at continuity in the midst of change in traditional designs chronologically from pre-historic times up to the 18 th century, with emphasis on just a few characteristic features of design. The third part focuses on design centers established by the government and details the developmental work done there particularly for handloom and handcrafted fabrics. In the fourth part, artistic forms are appreciated, whether woven, printed or embroidered. This leads on to the fifth part which considers the utility aspect of traditional textile designs in the context of how they are evolving into contemporary designs. The presentation concludes on a note of hope for the future in the sixth and final part of the presentation. India’s traditional textiles constitute one of the richest sources of designs in the world. Contemporary Indian designers have a unique advantage. They are surrounded by a living tradition and have access to people skilled in various crafts, facilitating experimentation at minimum cost. Design sense and market awareness of the artisan help in the development of applications using traditional designs which enrich design visual vocabulary, but regrettably, sometimes consumers do not appreciate it and the effort proves to be in vain. For instance, while attempting to copy or adapt some fanciful Persian forms for carpet manufacturing, Mughal craftsmen of the seventeenth century introduced such familiar flowers of Persia and Kashmir as the crocus and iris in their design, but unfortunately the designs did not gain popularity. In this evolving saga, today’s creations and inspirations will themselves, in turn, become a tradition for the future. In describing the renaissance of the crafts it will be noted 2 that sincere efforts are being made in all crafts that are being produced in India today, including the quality, purity of motif and ornamentation. At the same time, given the economy resulting from mass production, manufacturers have had no alternative but to move to cheaper machine-made products, to meet price competition. The craft ideology and love for the handmade products which formed such an important part of living in the past is facing severe economic pressures. In today's fast changing world of fashion, designers and manufacturers are constantly faced with the challenge of providing new designs to suit the rapidly growing fashion consciousness in the market. Most of the designs today are traditional textile designs from Kalamkari, Madhubani, Patola and Bandhani. Designs from stone-works, frescos, carpets, ceramics, jewellery and folk paintings are also being used liberally in textiles. Rustic, earthy colours and ethnic motifs are liked by the people, as are the vivid and bright colours and floral prints. Technology, in the shape of Computer Aided Textile Designing (CATD) has become a new designing tool. It is effectively reducing the time-to-market of the designed products. With CATD, it is now possible to proceed directly from the initial idea to the visual representation of fabric, displaying different types of designs and colour combinations. CATD has enabled more variety, flexibility and speed in design development. Images can be stored in the memory of the computer. Whenever required, they can be accessed to re-create or modify designs with the desired colour combinations. CATD is gaining popularity with large mills because it combines wider design choice with ease of production, leading to economy. In a certain way, fashion is timeless. This is the irony of fashion: always up-to-date, yet always dated. To be original in traditional design is to make the best use of the old vocabulary. In terms of the last few centuries of art, with their ever-higher estimate of the value of originality, this is a peculiar idea about invention. For example, design adaptation of good products which are now entering into decline phase of their product life-cycle, may prove to be fruitful. In the case of traditional designs, this may imply simplifying the decoration, or modifying the shape and proportion of items to suit requirements of contemporary consumers. The export market offers a great scope and opportunity for design development to budding designers in an era of globalization. However, it is necessary for designers to keep in mind some special features for meeting the expectations of the export market, such as a requirement of combining aesthetic value with value in use, hence the increasing demand for good-looking functional items. To conclude, it may be stated that in this research, traditional Indian designs were accessed wherever they could be found. Computer Aided Textile Designing (CATD) was used intensively for traditional Indian textile designing, and new designs were developed by using software to modify traditional design symbols. For the first time, a large number of traditional Indian designs which are characteristic of different regions, chronology or technique, have been classified and documented on CD-ROM for their preservation, modification and dissemination. 3