Shaped resist dying on textile is perhaps one of the most popular and age-old forms of textile manipulation. From Ikat to Ajrakh and Batik, they all fall under the umbrella of this term. The most common name dubbed to this technique is Shibori. The Japanese technique, with a long-standing history in the country, Shibori, which means "to wring, squeeze and press", has continued to inspire new generations of textile designers.

​Renowned homegrown Indian designer Divyam Mehta has employed this technique throughout his body of work. With his latest campaign, Gardener, he has returned to it again. According to the brand,  “For Divyam, Shibori is not only a technique but a philosophy, a way of allowing fabric to carry both memory and surprise. He keeps bringing it back because within its folds, he finds endless metaphors for growth, patience, and transformation. In sharing more about the intent behind the collection, he shared, “My relationship with Shibori goes back to my earliest collections. It was important to me to introduce this technique into our contemporary vocabulary, and eventually to let it blossom into botanical textures. Each piece feels like the fabric teaching me how far the craft can grow.”

​Going beyond surface treatment and a familiar dyeing technique, Shibori has been employed by the brand to reflect on notions of control and chance, discipline and freedom. The silhouettes are relaxed, featuring everything from denim to softly quilted jackets, from draped lungi trousers and ganjis to even resist-dyed dupattas. In the collection of elevated separates, grounding palettes of olive green, whiskey blue, coal, and plum find place, befittingly echoing the textures and shades of the natural world. And throughout the designs, he has incorporated the Shibori technique in a way suited for the contemporary times, staying true to his identity as a designer that is at the forefront of craft based fashion from India.  

​While in conversation with Homegrown, Divyam shared more insights into the development of the Gardener collection and his overarching designing principle. As a label, Divyam works closely with master craftsmen across India. In sharing how he works with them to incorporate the Japanese tie-dye technique of Shibori, he shared how his relationship with artisans has always been one of collaboration, refinement, and shared discovery.

Divyam shared, “The artisans I work with across Rajasthan and Gujarat form the foundation of the practice, and Gardener continues that dialogue. The Indian subcontinent isn't unfamiliar with tie-and-dye techniques like bandhani , leheria, and now clamp dyeing as well. Most of the practiced designs are either  geometrical or like waves; we wanted to create  more intricate artistry and thus discovered the stitch-resist-dye technique. It was a long learning curve,  but one filled with curiosity and experimentation. Most of our master samples have a long process behind them, starting with hand-drawn technical drawings, which sometimes takes months for an artist to draw.”

He went on to talk about how the artisans they work with have adapted to the nuances of disciplined stitchwork, binding, and dyeing into their own rhythm, developing unique Shibori landscapes. According to them, today what emerges from Divyam’s studio is not a reproduction of Japanese craft designs but distinct contemporary artistry which actually pushes the boundaries of  shibori art, one that honours both precision and tiny faults of the Indian artisans. Though Shibori is the primary focus in the Gardener collection, the brand has shared how the fabric has led and taught them how their craft and design identity can grow.

​He shared how the finer details of the design, like the voluminous sleeves, fluid trousers, and easy drapes were shaped by the same organic rhythm that defined their overall dyeing process. He summed up his thoughts on the collection by sharing how the collection, in many ways, was a back-and-forth,the technique shaping the silhouette, and the silhouette, in turn, directing how the craft was applied. Gardener by Divyam Mehta as a collection then "finds its balance between the intentional and the accidental, a space where craft and design grow together, rather than one leading the other", as poignantly shared by the designer himself.

Follow Divya Mehta here.

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