Project Brief :
A high end occasion wear collection for women looking for statement pieces which are a different take on Banarasi. Delicate, feminine, and a very different visual from the usual floral Banarasi language.
Design Inspiration : The Rococo Movement
Left image : The Swing (1767) by Jean-Honoré Fragonard, one of the prominent paintings from the Rococo era
Image Source : Britannica
Detail images of Rococo style interior and ornamentation of Queen's Bedchambers at Château de Versailles, France
Images source : chateauversailles.fr
Left image : Marie Antoinette, Queen of France (1755-1793), Artist : Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, 1783
Image source : Google Arts & Culture
Left to right : 1. Pattern detail of silk French dressing gown, Source : The Met Museum 2. Pattern detail of a French silk gown,
Source : The Met Museum 3. Embroidered border detail, French, Source : The Met Museum 4. Embroidery panel detail of a skirt, French,
Source : MFA Boston
For this collection, we decided to choose colours only based on the inspiration, since Rococo era had a very distinct pastel and muted colour vocabulary. The smaller swatches on left are of the zari colours and the rest are for silk.
This collection was conceptualised in a way to seamlessly coalesce the distinct aesthetic of the French Rococo period, the design vocabulary of the Banarasi sari and most importantly the Banarasi craftsmanship. The traditional Banarasi patterns are reimagined, incorporating the curvilinear motifs, distinct dainty florals, lace-like borders, along with the pastel palette and usage of gilded gold in Rococo architecture. Each piece is created in a way that it embodies the elegance and whimsy of the Rococo era, in a harmonious amalgamation with the rich artistry of Banarasi textiles.
Given below are the images of the saris made.
Katan( plain woven, mulberry silk ) silk sari with gold, silver zari and silk extra weft, in kadhwa technique of Banarasi
Colour - ways detail images
Katan silk sari with gold, silver zari and silk extra weft, woven in kadhwa technique of Banarasi
Colour - ways
Katan silk sari with gold, silver zari and silk extra weft, woven using kadhwa technique of Banarasi
Colour - ways detail images
Katan silk and gold tissue sari with gold and silver zari extra weft ; woven using Rangkaat technique of Banarasi
Colour - way in katan silk and silver tissue
Katan silk sari with gold and silver zari extra weft ; woven using kadhwa technique of Banarasi
Colour - ways
Katan silk sari with gold and silver zari extra weft ; woven using kadhwa technique of Banarasi
Colour - way
Katan silk sari with gold and silver zari extra weft ; made using combination of phekwa and kadhwa techniques of Banarasi
Colour - ways
This project was made for Tilfi Banaras, all the designs are the intellectual property of Tilfi and thus cannot be shared in detail on a public platform. Usage of any content of this project anywhere, in any medium, is strictly prohibited.
Product image credits : Team Tilfi
Stitched garments : Vani Shekhawat
Big thanks to all the weavers, graph - makers and artisans for their inputs, and translating the designs beautifully on to fabric.
