Unforgettable Textile Design in Everyday Things

If you look at the objects that you encounter in a day you will more than likely find that at least one of them is touched by design with cultural antecedents outside your own.  Many of the designs we see in everyday life come from textile surface or structural design that have been passed down through multiple generations proving that they are unforgettable and continue to have appeal.  Textile surface design or applied design is when a finish of some type is applied to a textile.  Embroidery, painting, or tie dyeing are examples. Structural design incorporates the design as fabric is produced, such as weaving a tapestry or creating lace. What is fascinating is when that surface or structural design is incorporated into a different type of object than for what it was originally intended. A pair of socks could have a Navajo geometric design knitted into them.  A tray might have an Incan Tocapu design painted onto it.  An African Kente Cloth design might be printed onto a fabric shower curtain.  Now the materials and the way of creating the design have both changed but the visual idea of the design is still dominate.

Producers decided how far to take the use of the design on which they base their work.  Is it a direct copy and has it been approved by the original creating group?  Is it an inspired piece that uses ideas from other works?  Is it a piece created in traditional ways by a group in the same ways as their predecessors? Is it even a textile or another form of media that uses like graphic ideas?  These are questions that play into the design process of the producers, values, and perception and evaluation of the design.

A selection of nine projects from Clothing, Textile and Interior Design 446 Cultural Dynamics Course at The University of Alabama are presented. Each project has a representative everyday object that can been found in today’s global market.

India Tie Dye

The Technique

What process was/is used to make the design in general?

Silk or cotton cloth is tied firmly together with wax thread, and the whole cloth is dipped into a dye vat. After the cloth is dyed, the threads are untied leaving the parts of the cloth that were tied uncolored (Bāndhanī, 2017). The cloth can also be retied and dipped again to add more colors to the cloth (Jain & Tiwari, 2012).

Is it surface, structural, or a combination?

Bandhani is a surface design because it is a form of dyeing.

What materials were/are used for the design?

Traditionally wooden blocks are used to imprint the design on the fabric. Most designers are now using a plastic sheet with holes made into the sheet according to the pattern. Traditional wooden blocks are 45-60 sq cm and the plastic sheets used are 90 – 180 sq cm in size. The plastic sheet technique cuts down on the time it takes to imprint the design on the cloth. Nakhuna is a metal cone tool with a pointed end that is worn on the index finder and used to assist lifting of cloth for tying. Many women have turned to using a plastic pipe that can be taken from a gel pen (Jain & Tiwari, 2012).

Who did the work?

Traditionally, mostly young working girls did the work (Bāndhanī, 2017).

What was/is the purpose of the textile with this surface design?

According to some historical texts, the first bandhani saree was worn during the time of Bana Bhatt’s Harshcharitra at a royal wedding. It was also believed that saree made from bandhani art form could bring good fortune to the bride who wears it. Colors in bandhani also have meanings. Red symbolizes a bride or recently married woman, and yellow symbolizes that a woman has recently became a mother. Colors and patterns can also represent the community a woman belongs to (The India Craft House, 2012).

Is the technique still being carried out today by the culture? Do they still practice the technique, teach it, and produce objects with the technique?

The bandhani technique is still being practiced and taught today. The main change of the technique is the design. Design has been changed to meet demand of consumers. Traditional designs included animal/ bird motifs. Designs now are more geometric (Jain & Tiwari, 2012).

Popular Culture Today

How is this surface design or structural design or combination produced today?

Today, the Bandhani design is reproduced without the time consuming and strenuous nature of the ancient tradition. In pop culture, the Bandhani print is used as “inspiration” for patterns adorning everything from clothes and bedspreads to home interior and décor. Factories are producing these patterns by replicating the effect on the tie-dye onto fabrics without using thread, hand-tying, or dyeing anything. For this reason, products being sold today almost always include “Bandhani inspired” so they are not claiming to have gone through the process that is Bandhani tie-dye. In some cases, traditional and authentic Bandhani fabric is sourced and used instead of replicating the pattern by machine. The pattern is seen as being “bohemian” and is usually found on products associated with meditation.

Has the visual of the surface or structural design been used in material culture production today in popular culture or the fashion world?

Bandhani is still an art being performed in India today, but in the United States, it is most frequently replicated for clothes and textiles by factory machines. Bandhani bandanas, clothes, bedding, and decorations are found all over the internet since it has been a popular pattern for a long time. The pattern is found in multiple ways in both pop culture and the fashion world.

Is it copied or used as inspiration?

  1. In the picture found below featuring Bandhani bedding from the website Urban Outfitters, the design is used as inspiration and is even described in the details as a “Bandhani-inspired duvet cover” from the Magical Thinking collection. (Urban Outfitters, 2018).
  2. In the picture featuring a Seattle store using Bandhani flags on the ceiling, the situation is slightly different. In this case, real Bandhani scraps of fabric were turned into flags and have been on display in various museums, including one in Bologna, Italy. (Hill, J. 2016).
  3. In the picture featuring the collaboration between FILA and a new Indian design duo, Bandhani is used as an inspiration to shake up the association with plain athleisure. Mriga Kapadiya and Amrit Kumar used Bandhani as one of their inspirations when creating their athleisure collaboration with FILA. (Vogue, 2018).

What materials are used in the production?

  1. The inspired duvet from Urban Outfitters is 100% cotton with no thread used like the traditional method of preparing Bandhani fabric. (Urban Outfitters, 2018).
  2. Materials used in the flag exhibit in Seattle are traditional Bandhani materials which are cotton fabric and silk thread to tie prior to dyeing. (Hill, J. 2016).
  3. Traditional Bandhani fabrics for the FILA and NorBlack NorWhite collection were sourced from the Gujarati region Kutch, making the materials cotton dyed using silk threads for the resist. (Vogue, 2018).

Where can it be purchased?

  1. The bedding is exclusive to Urban Outfitters, however other retailers have produced very similar items featuring almost identical pattern. (Urban Outfitters, 2018).
  2. The display is currently not for sale, but used as an installation to pay homage to the tradition of Bandhani and catch the eye of shoppers. (Hill, J. 2016).
  3. The designer’s Indian-inspired active wear can be purchased from their own brand: NorBlack NorWhite and also is found on collaborators websites such as FILA. (Vogue, 2018).

Who is producing it?

  1. Urban Outfitters released this bedding in their own collection, instead of selling it from another retailer. (Urban Outfitters, 2018).
  2. The creator of the flag exhibit is Christina Kim who is also a clothing designer. (Hill, J. 2016).
  3. Mriga and Amrit are the creative minds behind their brand featuring reinvented athletic staples in bold, colorful designs and patterns. (Vogue, 2018).

How much does it cost?

  1. The duvet cover is being sold starting at $89.00 and going up to $129.00 based on the size desired. (Urban Outfitters, 2018).
  2. There is no cost on the exhibit since it is being featured around the world, however she may sell them on the side or at the termination of the exhibit. (Hill, J. 2016).
  3. Pieces in their collection and collaboration range from $35.00 to $400.00 depending on the piece and amount of fabric used. (Vogue, 2018).

Legal/Moral Issues

    END

    Has the culture group who produced the technique you researched given permission for the use of their work with the examples discussed in Part II?

    Since there are no direct intellectual property laws specifically relating to folklore or the bandhani technique, the tie dye process has inspired many people around the world. It is widely used now, not only in clothing, but in interior decor as well. Therefore, the images did not have or need permission to be used. 

    Discuss the laws that govern cultural intellectual property in the country where the culture resides.

    The Constitution of India, in Article 29 and 51A, discusses the rights of minorities to their culture, and the value that they should preserve to protect their folklore. For instance, Article 51A states “to value and preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture.”  According to Article 29, “any section of the citizens residing in the territory of India or any part thereof having a distinct language, script or culture of its own shall have the right to conserve the same.” However, neither directly addressed the issue of the protection of their folklore, and neither have seen legislation, based on these articles, to translate the constitutional objectives into practice.

    What laws in the US govern cultural intellectual property?

    The U.S. Constitution is the main “law” that governs intellectual property, with a concentration on trademarks and patents. It specifies on indigenous intellectual property, with favor towards Native Americans. The United States’ and many other countries’ laws left indigenous peoples’ individual and communal intellectual property rights largely unprotected. However, it seems that the United Nations, in which The United States partakes, has made a push to change that. As a result, they developed the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. It specifically focuses on, “..the urgent need to respect and promote the inherent rights of indigenous peoples which derive from their political, economic and social structures and from their cultures, spiritual traditions, histories and philosophies.”

    Is the design considered sacred and should not be reproduced because of its sacred nature?

    The bandhani technique originated in Gujarat, India, and was the chosen technique used on the traditional wedding sari for sacred wedding ceremonies. However, with  cultural intellectual property laws lacking in regards to India’s cultural folklore, nothing is keeping others from reproducing it.

    Is the technique/visual representation of the culture’s work considered public domain?

    There are no cultural intellectual property laws that protect India’s cultural folklore, therefore, the bandhani technique is considered to be public domain. It has widely spread internationally, and has been used in many ways, from high-end fashion garments to interior decor and bedding.