Fashion Police: How homegrown label by designer Ashish Satyavrat Sahu teaches us on textiles and revival of weaves?

Designer Ashish Satyavrat Sahu values Indigenous textiles not only for their aesthetic beauty but also for their significance in preserving traditional art forms and cultural identity. They focused on Gen Z’s fashion sense and started making clothes according to their preference and introduced the ‘Streetwear concept’ in which we developed a variety of products for example Tote Bag, Jacket, Shacket, Cargo Pants, Puffer, bomber jacket, Fanny packs etc.

Johargram is an ethical sustainable streetwear brand that promotes the wondrous textiles as well as other craft of Jharkhand and aims to popularize the traditional medium. Founded on November 15, 2020 in Jharkhand by Ashish Satyavrat Sahu who is a designer graduated from NIFT Gandhinagar. Based out of Ranchi, Jharkhand, they create a modern yet traditional Indian way of dressing and provide an adequate platform for marketing of indigenous handloom and handicraft articles.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

India is the land of textiles, your take and how you are promoting it**?**

In India, we have observed that every other person talks about Khadi, handloom, and handicrafts then we arrived with a thought of Indigenous Textiles. Indigenous Textiles are traditional textiles created for Indigenous communities around the world. These textiles can include woven fabrics, embroidered clothing, and dyed materials, and they often feature unique patterns, designs, color palettes, and motifs that hold symbolic meaning within the community.

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What is your take on the revival of weaves ?
Revival of weaves plays a crucial role in supporting communities, preserving cultural identities, promoting sustainable fashion practices, and contributing to the economic empowerment of local artisans and weavers, providing them with opportunities to sustain their livelihoods and showcase their skills. Johargram noticed that our artisans or weavers do not want a plethora of things from us; all they want is regular work with the appropriate payments for their incredible carvings on time.

Johargram started doing work in the same manner and we also spread awareness and encouraged artisan’s children to carry out this legacy from one generation to another. We make them understand that they are blessed with outstanding skills and because of these beautiful skills possessed by their parents’ people from different corners of the world are approaching their designs and work.

On vocal for local…

We are not only endorsing the culture and way of living of ethnic minorities and tribal communities, but also keeping them alive for the next generation to know and appreciate.
We create job opportunities in deep remote areas.
By this innovative brand idea we are also trying to solve the financial and social empowerment of artisans of Jharkhand.

What do you have to say about the business of fashion? Has it got any better now that the pandemic is over and things are looking up in the last few years?

As we see post pandemic a lot has changed in the field of handlooms and handicrafts. Like earlier, in discussion on growth in the textile sector, handloom rarely finds a place. But the scenario has improved a lot and nowadays, there is a rapid awareness among people regarding sustainability, natural dyes, breathable fabric, desi style, local to global concept etc. People have started giving thought to nature and environmental factors and thus this thought inclined a lot of people towards the handloom and handicraft sector.

In addition to this, the Government is also playing a crucial role in promoting the handloom and handicraft sector by providing training and skill development programs for artisans to enhance the quality of their products and increase their competitiveness in the global market.

What is your take on conscious consumption?
In today’s era, many of us are following the conscious consumption concept which encourages us to be mindful of our choices and their impact on the environment and society. Johargram is also following the same by practicing these attributes like Johargram approaches ‘Slow Fashion’ over ‘Fast Fashion’ trends, emphasizing an ethical and sustainable approach to producing clothing. Here are the key points- a) ‘Quality over Quantity’- Encourages buying better quality garments that will last longer. It prioritizes durability and timeless designs. ‘Mindful Processes’ - This includes materials, manufacturing methods, and fair treatment of workers. 2) We use every single piece of the fabric without wasting even an inch of it. For example, if we are making a shirt with the fabric then the remaining cutting of the fabric is not wasted and we design various products out of it like goodies, Tote Jhola, or use that in patchworks. 3) We use recycled yarns.

Fashion VS Style… What your preference and how is it different?
The basic difference between fashion and style is fashion refers to the latest trends and styles in clothing, accessories, and beauty products. It changes frequently with new designs and trends whereas Style is timeless. It evolves with you but remains fundamentally yours. Style is all about personal taste and preference. We prefer styling over fashion, being a fashion brand obviously we are designing clothes, but we enjoy styling, and it is more sustainable like styling different pieces the older ones or the latest can be mixed and matched creatively, extending their lifespan. The style emphasizes versatility over fleeting trends.

Your fav style icon from Bollywood? And how would you like to dress him/her up?

I am a crazy Bollywood fan, and I don’t have any specific favorite celebrity. I respect each and every artist and the reason behind it is I am also an artist so I can relate much better in terms of hard work, fostering creativity, etc. I would really love to style any of them. It would be like a dream come true. Despite Bollywood, I would love to work with M.S.Dhoni. He wore and appreciated the Biru Jacket so yeah in the future it will be my pleasure if I would get the opportunity to style him personally.

Your favourite style icon from Hollywood and how would you like to dress him/her up?
If I would ever get a chance then I would like to dress up Justin Bieber in our cargo pants, jackets, and caps.