You can fill your wardrobe with pieces picked up from around the world, but there is nothing like the one that makes you pause for its story, of the craft it celebrates, of the artisan who spent hours bringing it to life, of the journey it took before it found a place in your closet. It may not come stamped with the monogram of a global luxury house, but it feels far more personal. You may have discovered it at a pop-up in Delhi, picked it up from a decades-old store in Jaisalmer, or received it as a thoughtful gift from someone’s travels to Mysore. Look closely and the creation will begin to hum, echoing a corner of India, carrying forward a craft that has endured.
Now imagine what happens when two distinct craft cultures of India come together. Think phulkari meeting Mysore silk, or kalamkari finding its way onto pashmina, a coming together that creates not just something new but results in a tapestry of stories.
This isn’t just my thought experiment. One such collaboration has just been unveiled, and it is likely to find its way onto the radar of anyone who sees their closet as an extension of India’s cultural richness. Padma Doree brings together two distinct worlds: eri silk from the North East and chanderi from Madhya Pradesh. The idea is as thoughtful as it is ambitious, to create a high-quality textile that not only merges crafts but also creates a solid ecosystem, offering livelihood opportunities to rearers and weavers in the North East and Madhya Pradesh.
While eri silk blends seamlessly with chanderi to create a premium textile, there is another reason this fabric deserves a place in your closet. It is crafted using eri silk, often called a non-violent silk, where the silkworm completes its life cycle and emerges naturally, making the process more mindful.
Priced at ₹5,000 per metre, the fabric follows an interesting journey before it becomes a saree, a shirt, or even an accessory for you in the future. “Thousands of eri silk rearers are involved in producing cocoons, which provides them with a source of livelihood. From these cocoons, yarn is produced, which is then sent to Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, where it is woven using traditional chanderi techniques to create the final fabric,” says Lucy Bora, Assistant Manager, NEHSDC (North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation), Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER).
The initiative is aligned with the government’s broader vision under the scheme called Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat, under which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently emphasised that different cultures across India should work together to promote the country as a whole.
The fabric is being introduced to designers, agents, and buyers to encourage wider adoption, with discussions underway with groups like the Aditya Birla Group and formal partnerships expected soon. Designers such as Rahul Mishra and Abraham & Thakore, among others, have also been approached.
The team is also exploring new directions, including blending eri silk with pashmina wool to develop other innovative textiles. At its core, the initiative aims to introduce something fresh to the market while strengthening local production and celebrating Indian craftsmanship.
With these efforts underway to bring together varied fabrics and weaving traditions into new textile innovations for India and beyond, this feels like a big moment. India’s crafts have always commanded attention, but now they are being reimagined and in a land of such diversity, this is only the beginning.