In today’s world, handmade is meaningful luxury
Label RaMa is an India-based fashion label that celebrates the country’s handwoven fabrics and rich cultural heritage. The brand takes pride in promoting fashion that tells a story of India’s mythical and mystical history, taking inspiration from the country’s deep-routed history and celebrating it in all its glory. Speaking to Fibre2Fashion, Founder Rajeswari Mavuri explains how she is continuing the Indian tradition of hand-woven outfits and creating unique pieces.
Fast fashion has been a dominating trend in recent years. What are your thoughts on its impact on the environment and the livelihood of artisans and small-scale manufacturers?
Fast fashion has been occupying an ever-increasing share of our fashion market for the last three decades with most recent years seeing the fastest growth, especially with the advent of e-commerce. The negative impact of fast fashion plays out in just about every aspect of our lives and our planet.
Whether you look at the environmental impact of production or the consequence of a consumer culture where clothes barely last a few months and then become waste, the damage to our planet is multi-dimensional. Then there is the truly concerning aspect of the quality of life and wages of the workers. More concerning, because there is less awareness of this, is the impact of fast fashion on our health – chemically treated fabrics designed to be waterproof and wrinkle free, toxic dyes, synthetic textiles that smother our skin. Given the potential health consequences, especially to children, and their intimate contact with our bodies, one would expect fabrics to come with ingredient labels – just like food!
My thoughts on the impact of fast fashion on the livelihood of artisans and small-scale manufacturers can be summarised quite simply – it is destroying them. And this destruction is truly devastating because once an art or craft that was handed down from generation to generation has been destroyed, it is almost impossible to revive. We see that happening with the art of Ikat weaving, which is slow, complex and intricate, and is fast being replaced by mass produced, digitised replicas. Fewer and fewer practitioners of the craft remain and those that do, struggle to make a living, given the down price pressure of the fast fashion market.
What do you think are the most significant challenges facing the fashion industry in terms of maintaining craftsmanship and traditional skills?
I believe that the most significant challenges are the price pressure that comes from the mass-produced clothing that floods the market and the consumer culture that is moving more and more towards a disposable product.
Craftsmanship and traditional skills take time (perhaps the most expensive commodity of all) and are created to last – to become heirlooms. Neither of these is valued by the consumers of today.
In the past, the most intricate and rich weaves enjoyed royal patronage and were kept insulated from market pressures and the vagaries of consumer demand. The simpler, everyday weaves like khadi and humbler crafts like kalamkari remained thriving because they were part of vibrant rural and local economies.
Neither of these edifices of support – royal patronage or vibrant rural economies – remain today and it becomes the task of the fashion industry to figure out a way to replace both of those in a sustainable manner.
What changes have you seen in the behaviour of the Indian consumer over the years?
The Indian consumer has changed their core values over the years.
While we used to value quality, our traditional designs and crafts and products that lasted a long time, sometimes even for generations, we now run after the latest trend and change what we want from one season to the next.
While we used to have patience and waited for our products to be made by artisans, we are now accustomed to and even demand instant gratification.
While we used to understand that the highest quality and craftsmanship came at a price and that price was worth paying and the product worth waiting for, we are now accustomed to having unlimited choices, competitive prices and discounts and seem to value those more than quality and craftsmanship.
How can the internet or social media be used to promote sustainable and ethical practices in the fashion industry?
Today the internet and social media have been very effectively leveraged to create demand and trends constantly and instantly; we can use them just as effectively to educate our consumers about the state of the fashion industry, the truth behind fast fashion, the implications of their product choices and the consequences of ignoring those implications on their health, our artisans and their planet.
The internet and social media can also be used as tools of outreach to garner support and petition governments to pass legislation which will require the fashion industry to become more environmentally and ethically responsible in their practices – much like the safety and fuel economy standards were imposed on the automotive industry.
And best of all, the internet and social media can be used to share the joy and reward of wearing meaningful luxury!
How do you think the focus on ethical production is changing the fashion industry?
This is a big and difficult question and I sometimes think it is really about whether you are the kind of person who sees the glass half full or empty. Being more of an optimist, the important aspect to focus on here is to recognise that ethical production ‘is’ changing the fashion industry. Even a decade ago, you would be hard pressed to find anyone who cared about the ethics of the fashion industry. Today it is practically a catch phrase which in some ways is progress.
When I look at what ethical production means today, I feel dejected because not enough is being done to move the needle and it is most certainly not being done by the largest producers, many of whom seem only to give it a lip service, engage in greenwashing and consider it a marketing strategy. On the other hand, designers who are truly committed to ethical production are struggling to find ethically produced fabric and ethical production methods, to make ends meet and to justify the price of ethically produced clothing in a world of mass production.
Nevertheless, it is heartening to see that ethical production has entered the mass consciousness and that public awareness marks the beginning of an important and crucial journey. As consumers and designers, I believe we are the stewards and captains of this journey. It is up to each of us to make it as consequential as possible.
How do you think the increased focus on body diversity or body positivity is shaping the fashion industry?
I see this as one of the most meaningful evolutions in the fashion industry today. Bigger players in the fashion market are publicly embracing diversity in their customers, and hence their marketing. We are seeing a clear transformation of silhouettes – from the impossibly idealised catwalk supermodels to silhouettes that work for many different body types. We are seeing more and more designs that are gender neutral and engage the LGBTQ community. At Label Rama our aesthetic veers towards the anti-fit, silhouettes that allow freedom of movement and still fit beautifully even if you gain a little weight.
Do you think slow fashion can become mainstream, or will it remain a niche market?
Before I answer this question, I feel compelled to point out that even 50 years ago, the mainstream in India, with our culture of cut-pieces, tailors, heirloom sarees and hand-me-downs, was what we would call slow fashion today. The market and the ethos have changed very rapidly and unfortunately the glut of factory produced clothing and the consistent loss of artisans and craftspeople makes it unlikely that slow fashion will ever become the mainstream again.
However, I believe that a shift will come and a version of slow fashion, with more of a lean towards ethical production, sustainability and a desire for longevity of products, will become more mainstream. We are already seeing legislation in the EU that is compelling the fashion industry to move that way, which is fantastic news for Label Rama and studios like ours that intentionally practice slow fashion.
How has your personal history and lineage influenced your approach to fashion and design at Label Rama?
Coming from a weaving family that has run a textile house for five decades, I sometimes feel that I have handlooms woven right into my DNA. My childhood vacations were all centred around weaving clusters. I began designing as a child, using sarees with minor flaws that my father brought home from the store. Working in the family business later, I went on sourcing trips and spent time with and shared meals with the weavers in a way that no one in our family business was. It deepened both my love and understanding of Indian handlooms and created in me a focus to give these beautiful fabrics a presence on the contemporary, international fashion stage. That is how Label Rama was born and that remains the core mission of the label.
Redefining luxury seems to be a central theme in your philosophy. Could you tell us more about what luxury means to you? How is it incorporated in your products?
When I think about what our ever-increasing consumerism is doing to our planet and to our very humanity, I realise that we need to redefine what we aspire to as humans; we need to redefine luxury and make it more meaningful. Meaningful to our planet, but more importantly, meaningful to us as humans.
To make luxury more meaningful, we must look at the entire ecosystem of production in the fashion industry. The first step is to look at how we source the fabric to make our products. The fabric Label Rama uses is meticulously sourced from artisan weavers who are still weaving the fabric the way it was made centuries ago. Using fabric made this way not only helps keep the craft alive, but the fabric also feels great on the skin. The second step is to look at how we make our products. Label Rama’s products are hand stitched by master tailors – the finish and attention to detail is very important to us. It not only propagates the craft of tailoring, but the finished clothing is a pleasure to wear.
Wearing a piece from Label Rama makes you the inheritor of a glorious and unbroken lineage of the ancient craft of hand weaving. Or to put it more directly, luxury is being able to wear clothing made from fabrics that are displayed in museums in the West!
To me, true luxury is meaningful luxury – clothing that makes you look good, feels good on your skin and does good in the world.
Why is the ‘handmade’ element so crucial to your identity, and how do you think it impacts your customers?
For Label Rama, handmade is a value, a core expression of our ethos, an aesthetic expression, the foundation of our ecosystem, the very definition of meaningful luxury… I could go on, there are so many ways in which it is crucial.
Using handmade fabric means we are continuing the unbroken lineage of handloom weaving in India. We engage with our weavers in a way that enables them to have a meaningful livelihood and life – we invite them to go beyond being ‘just’ our suppliers to collaborators in the creative process.
Working with master tailors not only keeps yet another fading traditional skill alive, but it also allows our clothing to be produced with a level of detail and finesse that would be impossible to maintain in a factory setting. It also enables us to take our customer service to the next level with customisation and personalisation.
Besides all of that, the pace and well, the sheer humanity of handmade creates a work culture where individual respect, identity and creativity can thrive and that, we think, is priceless.
How do you balance the traditional aspects with the contemporary trends in the fashion industry?
At Label Rama, the idea is not to balance the traditional vs. contemporary. We do not think the two are at odds with each other. In fact, they are two sides of the same coin, because eventually the contemporary becomes the traditional. Our idea at Label Rama is to make the traditional contemporary, i.e., to evolve the tradition in a way where the best characteristics of it are preserved, and that which holds it back in the past evolves, so that the tradition has a place in the present and future. We use the most meticulously sourced Indian handlooms to create silhouettes that have a place on the international runway. Our first two collections, Amār Amor and Wanderlust, feature jamdani and muslin, the fabrics that put India on the international stage centuries ago. We are bringing them back to that stage, but we have evolved the silhouettes to a contemporary aesthetic.
What is your vision for the future of Label Rama? Where do you see the company in ten years from now?
Ten years from now I see Label Rama being recognised as an international label that uses the most meticulously sourced Indian handloom fabrics. It would be my honour if Label Rama becomes synonymous with Indian handlooms.
It is also my goal to grow the number of weaving clusters we work with. We launched Label Rama with 2 collections that showcased fabrics from 5 clusters in West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Over the next decade, I would like that to grow to 50 clusters, with a particular focus on crafts that are at risk of extinction.
What message would you like a customer to take away from wearing a piece from Label Rama?
We would like every customer to know that wearing a piece from Label Rama makes you the inheritor of a glorious and unbroken lineage of the ancient craft of hand weaving. We hope our customers will have an a-ha moment when they put on one of our pieces – because of how good it feels to wear and because of the freedom of movement (and thought!!) it invites. It is our goal that the experience of living in a piece of Label Rama brings home the idea that in today’s world, handmade is meaningful luxury.
Could you share how the digitisation of the fashion industry has impacted your design and production processes?
Given our mission, values and ethos at Label Rama, the digitisation of the fashion industry has had little or no impact on our design and production processes. Like most other small, niche businesses of this era, we do enjoy and leverage the benefits of e-commerce and social media which enable us to have a larger audience than would otherwise have been possible. Over time, we do believe that we can leverage digitisation to enable our weavers and artisans to streamline their supply/order systems and help them to level the playing field.
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