Explore the exchange story of designer Stella McCartney from the UK and artisans Oshadi from India and find out how they created their look for The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange, 2018.
The Exchange: UK x India
For The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange 2018, designer Stella McCartney exchanged with artisans Oshadi to create a look from peace silk. The look was unveiled at Buckingham Palace on February 19, 2018, and later moved to the Australian High Commission, London, where it was open to the public in the run up to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Summit, April 2018.
UK: Designer Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney is a keen advocate for fair trade and female empowerment. The designer and the Oshadi factory in Southern India share an aligned value of environmental principles and social business practices. It is through Stella's appreciation for Oshadi’s skill, craft and their commitment to working with a community of weavers that helps in bringing employment to the region that has brought forth this collaboration for the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange.
The Exchange: UK x India
Stella McCartney created a gown using Oshadi’s peace silk, produced using ancient hand-weaving techniques, and naturally dyed by local skilled craftsmen in Tamil Nadu.
Stella McCartney's sketch by Stella McCartneyCommonwealth Fashion Council
Illustration of the dress
Artisan from Oshadi handweavingCommonwealth Fashion Council
Peace Silk
Stella McCartney's gown was created using Oshadi’s peace silk. The material is produced using ancient hand-weaving techniques.
Natural dyes used by OshadiCommonwealth Fashion Council
Natural Dyes
The material is naturally dyed by local skilled craftsmen in Tamil Nadu.
Oshadi's weaving equipmentCommonwealth Fashion Council
The Process
Peace silk is reeled from empty cocoons, meaning that silkworms are left to hatch into moths before the silk is spun from the cocoons in a way similar to spinning wool.
Fabric weaving in the Oshadi workshopCommonwealth Fashion Council
Hand Weaving
It takes a weaver one day to create 5m of hand woven peace silk using a hand loom, compared to hundreds of meters that can be produced in one day by a machine.
The Oshadi workshopCommonwealth Fashion Council
Minimum Impact Materials
From a factory in Tamil Nadu in southern India, Oshadi’s collections are made with minimum impact on the environment, using hand woven and naturally dyed organic cotton, peace silk and linen.
Artisan outside the Oshadi workshop in IndiaCommonwealth Fashion Council
Maintaining traditional craftsmanship
Ensuring that collections are ethically produced through the supply-chain is also key to the brand, but it is maintaining skills that would otherwise be lost to industrialisation that sets Oshadi apart, working with local artisan communities to reinvent their age-old weaving and dyeing processes with modern fabric-design manipulations using innovative and sustainable materials.
Artisan from Oshadi in IndiaCommonwealth Fashion Council
The highly skilled workers in this local artisan community are retaining the culture of the region for generations to come.
The Oshadi workshopCommonwealth Fashion Council
Stella McCartney's look at Buckingham PalaceCommonwealth Fashion Council
Final look on display at Buckingham Palace, 19 February 2018
Stella McCartney's look at Australian High Commission, London by Stella McCartneyCommonwealth Fashion Council
Final look on display at the Australian High Commission, London, 22 February 2018
Behind the Scenes of The Commonwealth Fashion Exchange 2018Commonwealth Fashion Council
This content has been specifically curated for the Google Arts & Culture platform on behalf of the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange exhibition that launched on the 19th of February at Buckingham Palace in partnership with Swarovski, The Woolmark Company and MATCHESFASHION.COM.
The project, created and managed by Eco-Age, with the support of The Commonwealth Fashion Council and The British Fashion Council.
More information about the images is available by clicking on them.
Read more about the Commonwealth Fashion Exchange at http://eco-age.com/commonwealth-fashion-exchange/
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