Gaurang Shah hopes to be a trend breaker
City-based designer Gaurang Shah reflects on the value of timeless Jamdani weaves and going digital in the new normal
The six-yard drape has been a part of India’s tradition since ages. However, the handloom sector of the country suffered majorly with the arrival of power looms. Several weavers found themselves out of work as the Indian fashion industry moved towards cheaper, printed saris. Giving hope to the weavers and establishing the hand-woven saris in the mainstream fashion world, Hyderabad-based textile designer Gaurang Shah has been working tirelessly with the weaving community.
Gaurang, the fashion brand that started in 2012 as a high-end couture store in the upmarket Jubilee Hills area, has now expanded its business to Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Chennai. Gaurang’s love for fabric goes a long way. While many designers choose their path while pursuing graduation courses, Gaurang knew that he would one day design elegant saris. “I first conceptualised my fashion design journey, sitting in my father’s small store which sold saris, at the age of eight,” shares Gaurang.
“As I grew up, I felt that women will be ready to move beyond georgette and chiffons saris if presented with alternative fabric, textures, and patterns. My vision was to create saris made in traditional ‘Jamdani weaves’ on handwoven fabrics and implying ecofriendly techniques like the use of natural dyes, etc., and giving a modern twist to our traditional fabrics,” he adds.
But the Hyderabad-based designer did not limit his fashion education to just books. After Gaurang finished his studies, he travelled the length and breadth of the country and convinced Jamdani weaver families that potential still exists for their craft if they are willing to change. “I gave the confidence that my designs will change the course of their life,” Gaurang says with pride. And it sure did! Today, Gaurang has an army of 800 plus weavers from across the country, who weave magic. Gaurang’s journey is not that of luck or chance.
As a young designer, he faced several obstacles. At a time when the handloom industry was struggling to stay afloat due to lack of patronage, Gaurang took up the challenge to revive the industry. “The biggest challenge was to establish a Jamdani weaver network; it was a fading community. Also, I needed weavers, who are willing to adapt, change and incorporate fashion trends both in terms of style, and design technique which was a huge challenge.” He adds that there was resistance from consumers to pay more for the weaves. “But as they understood the value of our timeless pieces of creativity, and intricacy they began to choose our creations more frequently,” he says.
Now, the well-known brand has its emphasis and focus on reaching out to markets untouched so far with online platforms — creating new e-store verticals addressing the needs of handloom clothing for men, women and kids across all age groups. And that has helped Gaurang keep his weavers and customers even during pandemic. “The new normal taught me to focus on digital platforms and so far, it has been a successful experience.
While I do believe that a client walking into the store is much more enriching mutually for the designer and the client, the digital platform does give you a wider outreach. Thus, the impact on my weavers was negligent, as my line of work takes months and some years of work and they continued their work even during the pandemic following all the protocols mandated by the government from time to time,” he says.
As the brand scales new heights, the designer is also spreading his wings. “I continue to focus on saris, as that is our forte and we would like to maintain our position as trend breakers in Jamdani saris. With our digital store business growing, we have expanded our line of creations in casual wear, formal wear, bridal wear, and festive wear across age groups,” Gaurang shares.
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