Dr. Babita Bhandari
Dept of Textile Design,
National Institute of Fashion Technology,
Kangra, Himachal Pradesh
In 2023, Bollywood diva Sonam Kapoor was noticed wearing a floral printed gown on the eve of King Charles III’s Coronation concert. The beautiful floor-length gown was codesigned by Indian designer Anamika Khanna and UK-based designer Emilia Wickstead.
The vibrantly printed gown is not just another designer gown, but narrates the story of the everlasting beauty of the rich Indian crafts. This sensible effort of designers giving due credit to Indian craft during Britain’s historic event signals a positive change. Currently, the fate of fashion is being shaped by sensitive designers who are determined to make a positive change in how fashion has been perceived traditionally. For a craft so old as the 17th century to have thrived to date speaks of its charisma and profound impact on the fashion flagbearers. Anyone would easily get immersed in the ecstatic beauty of traditional Indian calico print. The authentic form of calico print has the power to captivate one with its divine beauty for ages.
There has been a lasting legacy behind the origin of the calico print and its thriving journey for millennia. The cotton fibers were sourced from dry Tamil areas, the Palakkad gap in Western Ghat, and northern Malabar villages and then woven in Calicut town of Kerala by Chaliyans traditional weaver community. This half-processed, unbleached fabric was found to be a suitable and cheap alternative for any kind of experimentation, be it dyeing, printing, or creating interesting silhouettes. Calico fabric, which was used in loom state, was further printed and dyed in Northern and Western India and came to be known as the popular dazzling Chintz. Portuguese traders came across this fabric in Calicut city, known as Kozhikode today, in Kerala, and thereby pronounced it as calico. However, it was produced in India as early as the 11th century.
This exuberant fabric is an exhibition of the incredible craftsmanship of Indian artisans who had mastered the art of dyeing and printing using natural dyes. The raw calico fabric was turned into stunning masterpieces using a specialized bamboo pen and wooden blocks in fast, brilliant, natural colors. Abundant biodiversity was beautifully depicted on the fabric surfaces by the Indian craftsmen with their carefully guarded techniques.
The fabric was cool in summer and hot during winter, such was the comfort of the treasured fabric. Europeans were new to cotton when they first encountered it. Before Indian cotton made its way into their lives, silk, wool, and linen were the primarily used dress materials. However, upon witnessing the soft, lightweight, breathable properties of calico, it got readily adapted to women’s dresses, men’s robes, baby clothes, home décor, and whatnot. It became the most treasured commodity and was being possessed by only the wealthy. It was one of the most traded commodities from India to Europe during the 17th and 18th centuries, to the extent that their domestic wool and linen industry went on the verge of diminishing. Its import had to be banned to protect the European textile industry, but its sheen was far from fading. The craze for printed calico cloth was at its zenith when the forbidden cloth even got smuggled to address its insatiable demand.
Nowadays, calico print is witnessed in many of its forms with a slight contemporary twist. Glazed cotton printed with beautiful flora was known as Chintz. Nowadays, chintz is loosely referred to as any floral print on any base material, not necessarily a calico fabric, inspired by original handmade chintz patterns. However, the classic chintz prints still serve as a source of inspiration for today’s designers globally.
