Hundreds of artisans in Bengal involved in weaving exquisite hand-crafted Baluchari sarees are "losing out" to modern women's wear designs as there seems to be "little effort" to introduce them to present day style and market their products, ace fashion designer Agnimitra Paul said today.
"I had been to one of the Baluchari hubs, Bisnupur. I have interacted with their associations. But what struck me is while their hand-crafted unique art on silk is not done in any other part of world, they are not conversant with the change in fashion pattern and are still stuck in the centuries-old style of depicting epic tales on the body.
On my part I am trying to change the situation, but my individual effort is too little, too less," Agnimitra, the Chief Designer of Muslin of West Bengal government, told PTI here.
"If there is sustained effort from different quarters, to beautifully convert Baluchari into modern garments, bringing it out from the atrocious bright color combinations and wearable ones, Baluchari can be more popularised among the modern women," the fashion designer said.
"Modern women want to stand out in a crowd of thousands and want to look different but with subtle designs in sync with modern fashion. And how Baluchari can click can be understood by the recent example of a Gujarati woman client of mine who lapped up a Baluchari gown stitched by me, a deviation from saree. She heard about the name for first time but the design bowled her," Agnimitra said.
Whatever is beautiful, wearable and modern is lapped up by the present day generation and Baluchari can be used to cater to this demand, she said.
While asserting she would continue to take up the cause of the artisans living in Nadia and Bankura's Bisnupur besides pockets of Murshidabad, Agnimitra said her next show will be themed on Baluchari where different sarees will portray different characters from the epics.
"It will be in Feburary even as I will host another fashion show where there will be a shift from typical mytholgical figures to modern designs without tinkering with the look and feel of a Baluchari. There will be a showstopper who will fit in well with the cause and message," she said at a show of Baluchari promotion by an NGO Freed working for the development of Bishnupur through rural handicrafts.
