Thirteen designers from Madhya Pradesh and Northeast India presented new work in textile’s first major public showcase, marking the debut of Padma Doree at the confluence of craft and contemporary Indian fashion.
For the first time, the handwoven traditions of Chanderi and Eri Silk have been brought together in a single textile, and Padma Doree’s debut in New Delhi this week demonstrated the versatility and design possibilities of the material.
Over three days from 1–3 May 2026, thirteen designers presented original garments made entirely from Padma Doree, offering a breadth of interpretation that ranged from sharply constructed silhouettes to fluid, layered forms. The showcase positioned the newly developed textile not merely as a craft innovation, but as a living design resource capable of moving across occasion wear, contemporary fashion, and experimental garment-making.
“India has always had the world’s greatest textiles. Padma Doree is an argument for what happens when those traditions stop existing in isolation and start talking to each other,” said Team Padma Doree.
Following Padma Doree’s formal unveiling on 1st May, participating designers including Revika Raj Rathore, Tuhina Shukla, Nivedita Banerji, Anas Sheikh, Aditi Gupta, Samarth Khanna, Manujshree Saikia, Yachi Natung Taniang, Robert Naorem, Lalrinfela, Asenla Jamir, Iba Malai, Sonam Karma Bhutia and Dipayan Debbarma each created two dedicated Padma Doree looks alongside selected pieces from their existing collections.
The dual format served a deliberate purpose: audiences could see how the textile performed on its own terms, and how it sat within each designer’s broader creative identity. Some drew out the understated weight and texture of Eri Silk, while others leaned into the lightness and luminosity that Chanderi brings to the weave, producing work that demonstrated genuine range across minimal and statement-driven approaches alike.
Running parallel to the fashion showcases, artisans and craftspeople from both Northeast India and Madhya Pradesh were present throughout the exhibition space, displaying their own work alongside documentation of Padma Doree’s development process. They occupied dedicated presentation space, a deliberate framing that kept the full chain from fibre to finished garment visible to every audience member.
This structure, with designers and artisans sharing a platform rather than a hierarchy, reflects the founding logic of Padma Doree: that meaningful textile innovation requires the full ecosystem to be present and credited.
Padma Doree is a collaborative textile initiative bringing together the weaving traditions of Chanderi, Madhya Pradesh, and Eri Silk production from Northeast India. It is developed through an ongoing dialogue between craftspeople, regional industry, and contemporary designers, with the aim of creating a material rooted in Indian craft heritage and relevant to modern fashion practice.
