The Modern Nomad

The Modern Nomad
by Tanvi Mohan
1
Threads of Change

2

THESIS PROJECT 2018
THE MODERN NOMAD
A collection of reversible and multi-functional garments
STUDENT:
PROJECT:
SPONSOR:
PROGRAM:
AWARD:
GUIDES:
TANVI MOHAN
Threads of Change
Self initiated
Undergraduate Professional Programme
Information Arts and Information Design Practice
Meghana Singh
3

Copyrights 2017-2018
Student Document Publication
(for private circulation only)
All Rights Reserved
Final Thesis Project 2018
(Undergraduate Professional Programme)
Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka
No part of this document will be reproduced or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, scanning,
photography and video recording without written permission from the
publishers namely TANVI MOHAN and Srishti Institute of Art, Design and
Technology, Bangalore.
Written, edited and designed by
Tanvi Mohan
Printed at
Printo, Bangalore
4

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND PLAGIARISM STATEMENT
I, Tanvi Mohan, hereby declare that the content of this student documentation and final design/artwork submission is my own
original work and has not been plagiarised in full or part from previously published/designed/manufactured material or does not even
contain substantial propositions of content which have been accepted for an award of any other degree or diploma of any other
educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in this thesis project. I also declare that the intellectual content of
this Thesis Project is my own original work, except to the extent that assistance from others in the project’s design and conception or in
style and presentation is acknowledged and that this thesis project (or part of it) will not be submitted as assessed work in any other
academic course.
COPYRIGHT STATEMENT
I, Tanvi Mohan, hereby grant Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology the right to archive and to make available my
Thesis Project in whole or in part in the institute’s databank and website, and for non-commercial use in all forms of media, now and
hereafter known, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act.
Name:
Signature:
Date:
5

Acnowledgement
There were many people behind me durning the course of this project, all to whom I am greatly indebted. I would firstly like to thank our
project guide, Meghana Singh, for pushing us through this four month long journey, and for always keeping me on my toes. I would also like
to thank Meera Curam, who not only provided me with the most helpful feedback over the past few months, but also for nudging me in the
right direction.
I would like Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology and Mysore University for giving us a stepping stone of this proportion before we
enter the world of Design outside . This course truly culminated all my learnings in my four years at Srishti, and there could be no other course
that would’ve taught me so much in such a small span of time.
I would also like to thank Shilpa Sharma and Jaypore, for giving us this opportunity to work with them, for me personally, it was an
experience.
I would like to also express my gratitude to everyone in Sandur and in particular, the people at Sandur Kushala Kendra, for teching us this craft
so patiently. Thankyou to all of you for making Sandur brighter and beautiful, and for making us feel like your home was ours.
I would also like to thank my mother for being a helping hand all through this journey, and for being my constant critic and supporter at the
same time.
Without my friends in Yelahanka, this project would not have gone through constant filters, and for that I would like to thank them.
I would also like to thank all the artisans I came in contact with, since without them, tis project would cease to exist.
6

Contents
Acknowledgement
Introduction
Project Brief
About the Client- Jaypore
Project Proposal
Research Questions
Design Brief
Research
Inspiration board
Colour board
Process: Dyeing
Embroidery
Garment
Specification sheets
Cost Sheets
Look Book
Reflection
References
7

Introduction
The word Banjara is derived from people who wander in forests,
and some often say the word roots from the Sanskrit word
vanjara, van means jungle and jara means wondering. They have
travelled seas and forests to get to where they are today and as
they travelled from Europe to India the last of them settled in
parts of South India.
The aim of this project was to create a collection of garments
inspired by the Banjaras and their changing lifestyles. Using the
traditional embroidery techniques of the Lambani Banjaras settled
in Northern Karnataka in Sandur, the collection is motivated
by their timeworn lives which resulted in adaptability over the
past decades. This collection reflects the nomadic lifestyle of the
community, tailored to the needs of travellers today.
Using the versatile characteristics of their traditional embroidery,
the collection consists of a series of multi-functional and
reversible garments. These garments cater to the needs of women
who travel today, inspired by the travellers of yesterday.
This project, that spanned over the past four months, focused
on the crafts of Karnataka, and how they can be used to create
products that are unique.
This documentation book will walk you through the process and
journey this project took me though over the past few months.
8

9

Project Brief
“Staying in Indian metros and abroad, it is easy for any artisan or designer to question the substandard quality of artwork being produced by
the rural craftsmen. While we are all lost in admiring the glorious artwork of the historical era, we certainly miss out on the fundamental point
that today’s craftsmen in rural areas do not even have the means to earn a livelihood, forget the apt environment for working.”
-Laila Tyabji, in an interview to YourStory
Urban Indians, on average, engage with handcrafted products on a daily basis, and they mostly don’t even realise they are doing so. Ever-buzzing
online marketplaces have opened doors to craft-makers, designers and organizations working in the craft sector, conscious consumers
and patrons of craft to directly interact with each other. This has, however, also allowed the trickling in of sub-standard, mass-produced, machine-made
but trendy ‘faux-crafts’ to unaware consumers.
About 70 lakh Indians (about 1.5% of total workers in India) are employed in, or earn their livelihoods from, the handicrafts sector. Certain
sub-sectors within handicrafts, notably handlooms, have seen their employment numbers shrink. The key is to find a middle ground, which taps
into the growing popularity of Indian crafts while allowing artisans to practice their craft and prosper with it.
Many sensitive and socially-responsible craft organizations are working to bridge the gap between urban India, which is increasingly influenced
by international trends, and the rural artisan, who is strongly holding on to the rich traditions and techniques of crafting handmade goods. This
project aims to bring the craft and stories of some of these artisans to urban audiences, through the medium of their exquisitely crafted products
that are reinterpreted for the urban market while preserving their essence.
In achieving this, the students would need to answer:
• Why are we doing craft-based product development when the market place is already crowded?
• How are we going to collaborate with craftspeople and the crafts sector, and reinterpret the craft while retaining its authenticity?
• How, if the students need to bring their personal identity and interpretation, will they keep the story of the craft alive?
• Why would the consumer buy another craft? Or how is it different from any other product already available?
• How different mediums of communication can be used to share the story of the craft, can the craft itself become a medium to bring the
story to the fore?
10

CONTEXT
Jaypore was established in 2012 by Puneet Chawla, Shilpa Sharma, Aarti Jesrani and Deap Ubhi.
Jaypore is an on-line curated brand which has created a niche by bringing the best of Indian hand-crafted design to the world. The
accent of the Delhi-based startup is on wearable luxury and premium products, each of which comes with a story.
This project will culminate in a coordinated home/fashion/accessory collection complimenting the brand Jaypore and its rich customer
base. The design and technique direction for the contemporary collection has to come from following exquisite hand-crafted
textile traditions in and around Karnataka:
Lambani Embroidery, Toda Embroidery, Khadi Weaving, Indigenous Cotton Weaving
AIM
• Evolve an individual design language within the restrictions of clientele / market / consumer group / brand and the quality
parameters they demand
• Develop insights that lead to designing products keeping in mind both the constraints of the selected craft technique and
the cultural/social value it holds
PROCESS
• Profiling: Market / Niche / Brand / Label / Clientele / Consumer Group.
• Visit to the craft community to map and understand scope
• Selection of product segment, based on the above.
• Finalization of art media, materials, tools, techniques to be used for the project.
• Development of a design brief based on the preferences and inclination of the student’s personal design philosophy and its
concurrence with the profiling results.
• Development of theme boards, mood boards and color boards based on personal interpretation of the forecasting process
es and market / clientele / consumer group.
• Development of samples and conversational pieces.
• Development of final range / coordinated collection of indicative product line through illustration, showing the end use of
the developed samples / prototype.
• Understanding cost and process implications and re-looking the designs.
• Development of final prototype / prototypes.
• Process Document, Specification Sheets, Cost Sheets and Look Book.
11

About the
Client:
Jaypore
Shilpa, the CEO of Jaypore visited us twice
over the course of the entire project. During
her visit, she spoke to us about the brand
and how the brand evolved, and most importantly-
what they feel is most important
for their organisation. There were so many
things from this discussion that stuck with
me, especially thier core values.
I wanted my collection and project to resonate
with the core values of Jaypore- quality,
smart design and authenticity.
12

Who they are
Connecting you to india’s most beautiful
products.
Jaypore is about bringing the world a little
closer together. We discover the best designs
from artisans and craftsmen from all over
India, and deliver them at exceptional value to
our members.
What they do
Everyday, visit us to discover a new story.
We don’t like to call them sales. We are
storytellers; about amazing product, and the
people behind them.
What they sell
Jaypore focuses on products with unique,high
quality craftsmanship; unmistakably local
designs that feel at home anywhere in the
world. Our products include home decor,
accessories, jewelry, apparel, gifts, vintage
items and more.
13

Proposal
India adorns her beauty in her unique textiles, breath taking ornaments and inspiring stories that come alive all across the country, in streets,
homes and almost everywhere you may look for it. There is magic in the hands that work the loom, in the eyes that pore over a needle, in the hands
that dye a piece of cloth and give it life. And yet few things can sum it all up, can capture the essence in a box. Jaypore, with its aim to curate the
most beautiful artisanal products and deliver them with impeccable execution to a global audience, has been doing exactly so since its initiation in
2012.
Of the crafts found in Karnataka, we studied the Lambani embroidery found in Bellary District that is situated in North Karnataka. In this area, we saw
the Lambani tribe, or the Banjaras, who are a peculiar tribe that are spread all over India. Many say that the original home of this tribe is Marwar
in Rajasthan, but some argue that they originated from Rome. It is believed that the total population of lambani’s in India is about 30 million and
they are descendants of the Roman gypsies of Europe who migrated through Afghanistan and settled in Rajasthan. Over their distant travels, they
scattered all over the country and the last cluster came and settled in Karnataka. The word Banjara is derived from people who wonder in jungle and
forest, and is derived from Sanskrit word vanjara, van means jungle and jara means wondering.
Their migratory patterns forced them to adapt to different situations and surroundings. Their nomadic lifestyle, forced them to live and
behave in a certain way. Their language, for example, is a magnificent result of their journeys. Today, in Sandur, they speak Lambadi, a language
that is a culmination of words from several different languages- Gujrati, Kannada, Telegu, Marathi, Arabic and English. The dialect was thus a
direct product of their travels. Another example of their skills of acclimatizing is their traditional costume. As they travelled around, they started to
embroider their own traditional clothes. With time, they started to embellish their clothes with mirrors and shells to ward off animals that they may
come in contact with during their travels through jungles. Today, the craft of Lambani embroidery is characterised by their vibrant mirror and shell
work, a characteristic that they acquired as a result of their transportable behaviour.
Their ability to adapt with their surrounding is the core intention and inspiration for this project. The collection will be an inspiration from
their travels and their ways of acclimatizing. Through the course of this project, I aim to make a collection of multi-function garment that is inspired
by the craft of Sandur. The collection will be one influenced by a traveller’s wardrobe and style, and at the same time show its versatility since it
would ideally be more than one look. This collection will aim at using the essence of the Banjara life, that is, the life of a traveller, to create clothes
that can transform itself as per the occasion. In the same way that these nomads adapted to their surroundings, every garment in this collection will
be modifiable, in harmony to its surroundings.
14

Over my past seven semesters at Srishti, I have studied the varied forms, techniques and processes that relate to textiles in addition to the various
forms of design I have explored during my time at college. However thus far, my understanding of textiles and design has been mainly rooted in India’s
cultural heritage. While this forms an incredibly rich legacy, in the course of my career I aim to merge traditional forms of Indian textiles with global
forms.
Through this particular study however, I hope to be able to create a contemporary product collection that has been inspired by the lives of the Banjaras
of Sandur. As a designer, I think it would be stimulating to be able to translate these stories, and be able to put my own perspective into this.
This project however, intrigued me and the reason I wanted to work on a project like this because it was something I have never done before. The
projects we have worked on for the past seven semesters, were comparatively small scale and projects that were self-initiated. Working with a client on
this project, especially one as big as Jaypore, would be a challenging and exciting task over the next few months.
The Banjaras, for decades, were gypsies that travelled across the country and traditionally transported grain, salt and other commodities, playing a part
in the sub- continents national and international trade. But when it comes down to their lifestyle, everything revolved around the fact that they were
constantly moving from place to place. As mentioned earlier, their costume, language, etc. have also been greatly influenced by their movement every
day. Today, with modernization and inevitable changes in their lifestyle, close to little or no embroidery is done for their own use.
During our excursion to Sandur, we understood the lives and craft of the area in as much detail as possible. Today, Sandur Kushala Kala Kendra works
not only with the women of Sandur, but with 18 different communities that employ about 1000 women, many from the Lambani Community. We
visited one such community, called Maramanahalli. Many women who embroider even today, recall stories that they were told by their grandmother of
their travels.
In the past, the Banjaras were known for their nomadic lifestyle and fearless behaviour but today they have settled in Bellary and other parts of the
country. Their lives have been in constant change while they were gypsies but now they have settled in villages and have acquired homes and jobs. The
lives of the Banjaras have been reformed in almost every way possible was over the past few decades, it is hard to believe that the families of these
artisans were every nomads.
Through the course of this project, we will acquire the skills of understanding and working with a client. I hope to also be able to understand the brand
identity of Jaypore, its target customers, and the market today. This project will challenge my application of different design processes to build a collection
that could reach a market.
The execution and finishing of the final collection as per the plans will help me understand the entire process of sampling and production, skills which
will be essential for me to step into the world in the next few months.
Apart from the technical facets I shall gain over the course of the next few months, I shall also study in detail the different crafts of Karnataka. We first
studied the Lambani embroidery of Sandur, Bellary. We also hope to come in contact with the Toda tribe of Kotagiri to study their tradition craft of Toda
embroidery. It will also be interesting to see the outcome of the culmination of these different crafts, into contemporary garments for today.
15

Research Questions
How has the Banjara way of living changed the lives of
Lambani women today?
How can inspiration be taken from their way of living,
for a collection of garments for the travellers of tomorrow.
16

Design Brief
To design a line of multi-functional and reversible garments, that
can transform into different forms, for different situations. Using
the traditional technique of Lambani embroidery, I want to create
a collection of garments inspired by the timeworn lives of the
Banjaras. The project will aim at the needs and requirements of
travelling women today, to give them a sense of adaptability as
they continue to travel the world today.
17

Research
18

The Greek historian, Arrian, is considered the best source on the campaigns and life of
Alexander the Great while he advanced into India. In his works, he describes a group who
led ’a wandering life, dwelling in tents and letting out for hire their beasts of burden.’
This reference is vague and may even just be the description of a group of shepherds. It
has, nevertheless, been cited as evidence of an established caravan trade, and has been
the first written description of the Banjaras. But when it comes to their lives now, almost
every aspect of their lives have changed, whether it was up to them or not. Their history
is so rich and diverse, that many still speculate if the changes came about due to external
pressures or from within the community.
Tribal cultures, for example, dictates clear marriage rights. There are two traits that
preserve tribal identity and motivate oral history of family lineage- A banjara may marry
another Banjara, therefor in this respect they are endogamous. But within the tribe,
they cannot marry a member of the same family and so the at the clan level, they are
exogamous. Today, they still follow their decree of being exogamous at the clan level, but
at the tribe level, they now practice inter-clan marriage. Small changes like these, both in
their traditions as well in their everyday lives, is what the Banjaras of Sandur represent
today.
‘The Banjaras might have remained as only another variation among India’s tribes were
it not for their calling as carriers, an occupation that dispersed their distinctive way of
life throughout India. The further away from the North West they moved, the more
exceptional they seemed to become. In part, this reputation is due to their resistance
to mingle with other cultures. When passing through another community, the Banjara
would always camp outside settlements, hence activating deep notions of order and
disorder, romance and prejudice that were equally present in the North American
frontier, medieval Europe and India.’
The first account of the Banjaras is found during the reign of the Afghan emperor,
Ala-ud-din Khilji (1296-1316). In an imperial programme of trade control and market
consumption, Khilji licenced merchants and kept profits under state supervisions. But
slowly, Ala-ud-din Khilji pursued conquest through what is now Rajasthan and Gujrat, and
his armies briefly even touched the tip of the Indian peninsula. If he employed Banjara
carriers as his supply lines, it is possible the Banjara presence in Sandur and other areas in
South India is the result of an early displacement and caravan trade.
19

One can get a sense of the scale of Banjara operations from Mughal emperor,
Jahangir’s (1628-1658) observations as he saw a group of Banjaras, ‘who
possess a thousand oxen, or more or less, varying in number. They bring
grain from the villages to the towns and also accompany armies. With an
army there may at least be a hundred thousand oxen…’ He observed that
the group he saw, was supplying his army on its way from Delhi to Kandahar,
a distance of over 1,000 kilometres (600 miles). Jahangir’s successor Shah
Jahan , and his most capable general, Mahabat Khan set up grain depots and
encouraged Banjara’s with gifts- elephants, horses, and even cloth, as well as
by fixing the price of grain in the Banjara’s favour.
Throughout history, the Banjara’s have maintained a somewhat sociable
relationship with those who have ruled over the country, and have still
managed to make sure their priority was always corresponding to their best
interests.
An English ambassador, Thomas Mundy, Came to India in 1632 and visited
Surat. While he visited India, he was a keen observer and sketched and even
kept a journal of his travel. His observations in India and on the Banjara bring
up a number of points. One, the Banjara prefer to work as independent
merchants, rather than hired Labour. Two, they own animals individually
but they work as a collective. And three, the word Tanda identifies both the
family group as well as the encampment. He writes,
‘The Banjaras were travellers who carried their household with them, as
well as their wives and children, and one tanda consisted of several family.
The oxen are their own. They are sometimes hired by Merchants, but most
commonly they are merchants themselves. They would buy grains where
it is cheap and carried it to places where it was dearer and would relate
themselves with anything that will yield benefit in other places as salt, sugar,
butter et cetera.’
20

Tavernier refers to the pack carriers as manaris, which appears
to be confusion with the name of the pedlar caste. He also gives
a strange description of the salt carriers, claiming they may be
identified by a lump of salt, suspended from the neck in a bag,
which sometimes weighs 8 to 10 pounds. For the heavier it is,
the more honour they have carrying it. If true, it would explain
the Banjara affection for heavy jewellery and ornament the
women wear even today. About the women he writes:
“The dress of women is but simple cloth white or coloured
which is bound five or six times like a petticoat from the waist
downwards. As if they had three or four one above the other.
From the waist upwards they tattoo their skin with flowers, and
they paint these flowers with the juice of truth, in such a manner
that it seems as though their skin was a flowered fabric. “
Another traveller from Germany wrote about the Banjara win:
‘There are a certain sort of people call ‘venesers’ in the Deccan
whose chief business is to buy up vast quantities of wheat and
rice here, and to carry it in a great caravan of 1000 beasts at a
time, to Hindustan and other neighbouring country; they carry
their families with them, their wives being expert and brave in
managing of the bow, that they serve them for a guard against
Rajputs and other robbers.’
During the campaign into The Deccan, the Mughal troops made
good use of the Banjara as a commissariat force. They were
described as capable, strong and with the hereditary ability to
endure the gruelling life of long distance. Clearly the Banjaras
were the obvious choice. Aurangzeb, who was a militant Ruler,
and never stopped campaigning, had a vested interest in the
location of these Banjaras at all times. In a letter from the last
years of his reign, Aurangzeb observed large numbers of Banjara
people had gone to Gujarat. But failing to find sufficient grains
to trade, they had loaded their bullocks with salt and dispersed
to other parts of the country. Yet Banjara with 100,000 oxen still
remained in that province trying to buy grain and return to the
Deccan across the Narmada river.
21

22

23

Field Visit to Melkote
We visited Janapada Seva Trust, in Melkote, where we discussed and learnt about Khadi
and the processes of khadi that are practiced in the region and within the trust. Khadi is
one of the primary activities of the Trust. Khadi is hand spun and hand woven fabric. Khadi
even today is one of the major livelihoods in rural India. During our group discussion we
discussed Mahatma Gandhi the father of the nation and how he brought khadi to the
limelight and shaped this humble rural activity as a powerful tool to fight the English.
Hence khadi has cultural and as well as political importance in the Indian context of late
environmental concerns have turned their attention to Khadi and handloom industry is
gaining recognition as a green industry.
Melkote was well known for handloom weaving. Till recently Melkote Dhoti was a unique
and much sought after product. With the advent of power looms and mill products
the craft has all but vanished, and it is in this context the Trust is striving to revive and
popularise a local tradition. Even though The Trust is a recognised khadi institution by
Khadi and village Industries commission of Govt of India. The Trust seeks a minimum
support from KVIC and is focusing to make khadi products market savvy and built a loyal
client base from among urban community. This has helped the Trust to reduce the state
support to minimum
The Khadi produced at the centre is natural dyed khadi and the quality is on par with the
best produced in India. Along with yarn dyeing unit it has its own stitching unit to produce
attractive fashionable garments. It also runs a small show room in Melkote to sell it
products.
Local rural women and traditional weaver community manage all the activities. To maintain
quality and fashion update, a lot of enthusiastic designer friends are involving themselves
in this initiative.
24

25

26
Field visits to Sandur

We visited Sandur in the last week of January, perhaps when it was in its peak. The winter
season was over and it seemed like summer had already come in to Sandur. During our visit,
we studied a lot of different aspects of the craft and the communities from the different
stitches, to their lives and practices over the years.
We first studied the different ways the craft was practiced, at home and in small organisations.
We spent our days at Sandur Kushala Kendra that had its beginnings when twelve
local Lambani women, from the thanda of Susheelanagar, were brought together to work as
a group. The year was 1984 and this modest initiative foreshadowed the start of a significant
change in the lives of not only the Lambanis, but also other traditional craftspeople who
lived in and around Sandur.
Today, about 500 artisans work with SKKK. It has helped twenty self-help groups to become
active and local craftspeople are benefiting from, and growing with, the organisation. SKKK
owes its existence to the initiative and involvement of the Sandur Manganese and Iron Ores
Limited (SMIORE) and its Chairman Emeritus, M.Y. Ghorpade, who also was also a part of the
Karnataka government.
SKKK’s objectives were manifold from its advent: encouraging the revival of indigenous
crafts, ensuring a better life for the people who made them, finding new markets and making
the crafts more relevant to modern tastes. The society is actively involved in the process
of production, marketing and development activities of the artisans and crafts like cane &
bamboo, stone & wood carving, traditional hand block printing, natural dyeing etc. National
and State awards are becoming a habit of SKKK’s Lambani craftswomen. One of the women
we worked closely with was one of the National awardees, Shanta bai. Her life was a book
full of different chapters, and somewhat inspiring. She was one person I was truly inspired
by.
27

About Sandur
Map of Sandur
Once upon a time, it was known as Skandapuri…
in honour of the temple dedicated to Skanda, or
Kumaraswamy, that still stands today. Home to panthers,
deer, chinkaras or Indian gazelles, peacocks
and lush vegetation, it was a glimpse of paradise, set
in one of the earth’s oldest rock formations.
Today it is known as Sandur, which in Kannada
means “town between hills”. It is an appropriate
name for an area that is defined by a valley surrounded
by hills, with two natural gorges on each
side.
The land continues to be rich in forests, flora, fauna
and deposits of iron and manganese ore.
Sandur has weathered time well enough for
Mahatma Gandhi to have described it as an oasis,
when he visited in 1934. Its population includes
peoplewho have had their roots in its soil for many,
many generations…and those who came as nomads,
and then decided to stay.
28

The Thandas
A thanda is essentially a cluster of
homes or families that live together and
work together as a community. There
are many thandas in a district, for example,
there are 18 thandas in the Bellary
district. We visited some of them and
tried to understand how they worked as
a community and a craft cluster.
On our first visit, we visited Maramanahalli
thanda. We went during the second
half of the day and sat with the women
of village who embroider for Sandur
Kushala Kendra from their homes.
It was my visit to this thanda that made
me realise the changes that had taken
place in their lives and how they have
modified their everyday practices over
the decades.
29

The other aspects that we saw in detail were their practices at home. From
the discussions we had, I learnt about their marriage rituals, about their costume,
about their music and even about their food. But with more and more
research and with more discussions we had, I started to realize the changes
the community had been through through the decades, and it got clearer
and clearer to me that this was something i would want to study.
30

About Shanta Bai
31

Customer Inquiry
32

The questions:
What is your gender?
In what category does your age fall?
Which city do you live in?
How often do you travel?
In which city do you spend most of your year?
As a traveler, are you conscious of how much
baggage you carry?
On a trip, how important are ‘outfits’ for every day?
Do you own a piece of clothing you carry for most of
your trips? What is it, and why do you carry it?
Would you wear garments with mirrors, shells and/
or coins on them?
What is MOST important for your wardrobe when
you are travelling?
Do you own a garment that you wear all year round?
What is most important in the clothes you wear
when you’re travelling?
Would you spend money on clothes that are
designed especially for travelling?
33

Inspiration Board
I started my mood board and inspiration board from what I was most inspired with when I was a t Sandur. I
wanted to create a colour pallette from the colours that surrounded them today- the natural colours as well
as the contrast that we saw all around us in all aspects of their lives.
I started by collecting all the images from our visit to Sandur, and zoomed in and out of all the sights we
came accross while we were there. From there, I took out jsut four pictures that resonated with what I
wanted to portray in my collection.
From the four pictures and the zoomed out images of our trip to Sandur, I took out many different colours
that I saw in the walls and homes. I wanted to use these natural tones for the base fabric of the collection.
I also took out a set of four other colours from their changing garments that I wanted to incorporate into
the collection.
colour
34

35

Colour Board
After extracting the colours from the images and creating a mood board, I started choosing exactly what colours should go
in the collection. Frrom the colours of the walls, I took out two shades of browns, something I wanted to acheive using tea
and coffee. For the three contrasting colours, I close a light green, a light burgundy and a blue. These colours were to be
used as base colours for the garments.
After deciding on these, I started to choose a few contrasting colours for the embroidery thread colours. Once again, I
went back to my mood board, and took out five colours I wanted to use for embroidery. Apart from these five, I kept two
colours aside as accent colours.
Further, I went by creating combinations that could be used, and different iterations with the colours I had decided on.
36

37

Dyeing explorations
After a lot of hit and trials, I decided to discard the
idea of yellow in my head, for two main reasons. One,
it was proving to be a task to fix onto khadi, and two,
because I thought it was too contrasting of a colour
to use in my collection, considering I was looking for
natural colours for my collection. For blue, I decided
to stick to Indigo, but with chemical, since it was
proving to be very hard to do it naturally without the
resources.
The next step I took, was to find a green that I could
use. For this I threw away with the idea of mehndi,
because it dyed very streaky, and would’ve been
harder while doing in production. So I tried first
dyeing the cloth in haldi to make it yellow, and then
dye it in indigo to change it into green. This worked
out when I did it in a small scale, but when I tried it
with larger pieces it got harder and harder. Therefore,
green was eliminated from my palette.
The last colour I worked with was red, and I mainly
tried working with manjeshtha, and tried to get
different shades of red and light burgundies. I tried
many different treatments, and decided the colour I
loved the most was a treatment of coffee and then
manjeshtha. However, in the long run, I decided
to make the shade much lighter, since when I was
layering it with other lighter coloured material, it was
changing the tone of all the garments.
38

The entire process of colour explorations started when I wanted to use
natural looking colours for my colour palette, as I started to do explorations
with tea and coffee. I started to dye different qualities and kinds of
cloth in different kinds of tea and coffee, treated them in different ways
and tried to see all the different shades I could achieve with something as
simple and natural as tea and coffee.
Further, I started to try other different natural materials, to achieve the
different colours on my mood board. I tried manjeshtha and pomegranate
to achieve a tint of red, I tried mehndi for green. I then started to try and
use indigo, and due to the lack of facilities I had access to, I tried different
methods to get a light blue colour. I also tried using halda and haldi to get
a bright yellow colour, but got rid of that idea soon as I realised how difficult
it was to fix them.
39

Embroidery explorations
On our first field visit to Sandur, I studied the craft and
the stitches in great detail- how they originated, how
they changed over the years and what stitches are used
the most.
I started off by sitting with the women of Sandur Kushala
Kendra one afternoon, and embroidering along with
them. It was really eye opening at this point for me,
because I realzed the skill level and the intricacy that
goes into every embroidered piece- giving it the true
meaning of ‘hand-made’.
Something that really stuck to me when I saw all of
the ladies embroider was the back of the cloth- it was
always as neat as the top of the cloth.
40

Once we got back from our visit to Sandur, I realized that
something I really wanted to work around was the concept
of using the already existing Lambani embroideries both
ways- front and the back. The front with the existing stitch
and the the back with different patterns I could try and
create. While we were at Sandur we learnt all the 21 GI
tagged embroideries that Sandur Kushala Kendra prouldy
practice even today.
I then started to practice this embroidery myself at home,
which actually wasn;t very hard considering I had been
embroidering all through the first few months of the project,
first at home myself and then along with the women of
Sandur.
Slowly, with time I started understanding the embroideries
and the different things I could do with the already existing
stitches. I started putting mirrors onto cloth and creating
circular patterns on the other side of the cloth.
I wanted to use all the stitches that used straight lines,
becasue I knew the broad category of looks I could create
with only lines.
For this reason, I decided the teen dora would be an integral
part of the collection, maybe even an element that holds the
collection together.
41

Garment explorations
Working with garments was something that
was very new for me as a process, since over
the past four years, I have never created a
collection from scratch, so this entire process
was a little more time consuming than the
rest.
Since this was a new process for me, I decided
to start simple. I started to draw out my ideas
on paper so I could keep working on them
until I thought they were ready. Over time,
not only did my sketching get better, but so
did my vision of what I wanted my clothes to
be.
I started finding already existing clothes
around me that I could turn reversable or a
garment I could wear in different ways, and
started creating sillhoutes of the garments
that I thought were ready to go into my
collection.
42

The garments I decided to go ahead into the collection were:
Garment 1: reversable blouse
Garment 2: adjustable vest
Garment 3: wrap shirt
Garment 4: boat shirt
Garment 5: wrap around pants
Garment 6: wrap aound skirt
Garment 7: deconstructed wrap pants
Garment 8: cape
43

44
in process

Sketches
45

Specification Sheets
for every garment
46

47

48

49

50

51

52

53

Cost Sheets
for every garment
STYLE - BLOUSE
rate Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric rs 280 1mtr Sum 709
Dyeing cost rs 45 Rejection @ 2% 14
Stitching rs 140 Labels 10
Total Cost Amt 733.18
Accessories-
Embroidery rs 14 Total pcs 1
Buttons rs 30 packaging & freight
Hooks rs 10 Design Fee 400.00
Embroidery cost rs 190 MRP Rs
1,109
STYLE - BOAT SHIRT
rate Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric (outside) rs 180 3 mtr Sum 1504
Main Fabric (inside) rs 190 3 mtr Rejection @ 2% 30
Dyeing cost rs 130 Labels 10
Stitching rs 140 Total Cost Amt 1544.08
Accessories- Total pcs 1
Embroidery thread rs 14 packaging & freight
Embroidery cost rs 140 Design Fee 400.00
MRP
Rs
1,944
54

STYLE - CAPE
rateww Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric (outside) rs 280 3 mtr Sum 1165
patch of fabric on side rs 60 0.5 mtr Rejection @ 2% 23
Dyeing cost rs 40 Labels 10
Stitching rs 100 Total Cost Amt 1198.30
Accessories- Total pcs 1
Embroidery thread rs 14 packaging & freight
Embroidery cost rs 90 Design Fee 400.00
Buttons rs 21 MRP Rs1,598
STYLE - DECONSTRUCTED WRAP PANT
rate Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric (outside) rs 280 3 mtr Sum 1724
Main Fabric (inside) rs 190 3 mtr Rejection @ 2% 34
Dyeing cost rs 90 Labels 10
Stitching rs 100 Total Cost Amt 1768.48
Accessories- Total pcs 1
Embroidery thread rs 14 packaging & freight
Embroidery cost rs 110 Design Fee 400.00
MRP
Rs
2,168
55

STYLE - SKIRT
rate Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric (outside) rs 280 1.5 mtr Sum 999
Main Fabric (inside) rs 190 1.5 mtr Rejection @ 2% 20
Dyeing cost rs 90 Labels 10
Stitching rs 100 Total Cost Amt 1028.98
Accessories- Total pcs 1
Embroidery thread rs 14 packaging & freight
Embroidery cost rs 90 Design Fee 400.00
MRP
Rs1,428
STYLE - VEST
rate Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric (outside) rs 180 1.5mtr Sum 969
Main Fabric (inside) rs 190 1.5 mtr Rejection @ 2% 19
Dyeing cost rs 140 Labels 10
Stitching rs 120 Total Cost Amt 998.38
Accessories- Total pcs 1
Embroidery thread rs 14 packaging & freight
Drawstring rs 10 Design Fee 400.00
MRP
Rs
1,269
Embroidery cost rs 130
56

STYLE - WRAP PANT
rate Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric (outside) rs 280 3 mtr Sum 1397
Main Fabric (inside) rs 190 1 mtr Rejection @ 2% 28
Dyeing cost rs 60 Labels 10
Stitching rs 160 Total Cost Amt 1434.94
Accessories- Total pcs 1
Embroidery thread rs 14 packaging & freight
Embroidery cost rs 110 Design Fee 400.00
Buttons rs 19 MRP Rs
1,834
Hook rs 4
STYLE - WRAP SHIRT
rate Mtrs/Pcs Amount
Main Fabric (outside) rs 280 3 mtr Sum 1144
Dyeing cost rs 30 Rejection @ 2% 23
Stitching rs 120 Labels 10
Total Cost Amt 1176.88
Accessories-
Embroidery thread rs 14 Total pcs 1
Embroidery cost rs 140 packaging & freight
Design Fee 400.00
MRP
Rs
1,576
57

Look Book
58

59

60

61

Reflective Statement
This project, for starters, gave me a wholesome experience of making a collection, something I had feared for a
very long time. The project was nothing like I imagined it would be, but so much more. Working with a client was
a new aspect that came into my project this time, and working with Jaypore with only two visits gave me valuable
feedback and an outlook to what the ‘outside world’ wants.
Over the course of the past four months, I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making a collection and saw my
project root from the beginning to the very end. There were many times in the past few months that we, even as
a class, doubted ourselves, and our ideas, but slowly as we progressed, each project got stronger and stronger,
which was so exciting to see since this class has been together ever since we decided what we wanted to do in
second year.
Since first year, I have had been eager to study the crafts of the country- whether it’s the embroideries of Kutch
or the block printing of Jaipur, the crafts of India. Our interaction with the different craft communities and craftspeople
all over Karnataka, showed me furthermore how the crafts of our country are changing, but still flourishing.
I think one of the main reasons I chose this class was because it gave me an opportunity to work with a craft
cluster that was so diverse and close to home.
The project has also helped me gain technical knowledge which I understand I will need in the coming future. I
entered this project just knowing what a specification sheet was, but I leave it confidently, knowing how to make
one and never having to dread making one again.
To conclude I come back to my first point again, as to how this project taught me the entire process of making
this collection all by myself. From sourcing to dyeing, and working with different artisans and tailors, this project I
believe, has moulded me for my future.
62

References
Kwon, Charllotte, and Tim McLaughlin. Textiles of the Banjara: Cloth and Culture of a Wandering Tribe. London: Thames & Hudson,
2016.
Images have been taken by Jai Phalsankar and Tanvi Mohan
63

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
64

THESIS PROJECT 2018
THE MODERN NOMAD
A collection of reversible and multi functional
garments
Examiner 1 (name and signature):
Examiner 2 (name and signature):
Examiner 3 (name and signature):
Date:
STUDENT:
PROJECT:
SPONSOR:
PROGRAM:
AWARD:
TANVI MOHAN
Threads of Change
Self initiated
Undergraduate Professional Programme
Information Arts and Information Design Practice
Academic Dean (name and signature):
Final Examination Panel COMMENTS:
65

TANVI MOHAN
Final Thesis Project 2017
(Undergraduate Professional Programme)
Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology
Bangalore - 560064 Karnataka
66