The Drape, Reimagined
A generation of Bangladeshi designers is fusing centuries-old jamdani craftsmanship with architectural draping techniques borrowed from the global runways. The result? Something wholly, breathtakingly new.
Nadia Islam8 min read
fashion
Kantha Couture on the World Stage
Bangladesh's embroidery heritage claims its place in global fashion
Nadia Islam
Fashion Director
5 September 20266 min read
Once confined to rural workshops, kantha stitch is now appearing in London showrooms and Paris pop-ups. We meet the artisans and the entrepreneurs bridging both worlds.
In a workshop in Rajshahi, fifty women sit in two long rows, heads bent over white cotton cloth. Their needles move in and out in the running stitch pattern that defines kantha — Bangladesh's most democratic textile art form, originally created by layering old saris into warm blankets.
Today, this centuries-old stitch is finding a new audience.
Brands like Aranya and Aarong have always championed kantha domestically. But a new generation of export-focused designers is taking the craft global. Surma & Co., founded by London-based Bangladeshi designer Piya Chowdhury, recently debuted a kantha-embroidered tailoring collection at Dover Street Market. It sold out in four days.
"The craft was always there," Piya says. "It was just waiting for the right frame. The right context. The right story to be told around it."
#kantha#embroidery#global-fashion#artisans