An ode to the rich weaving heritage of Kerala.
Hi! :-)
Seamstress is quaint handwoven garments workshop which started out in Thrissur, Kerala, India by Vimala Viswambharan and I (Rasmi Poduval, Vimala's daughter-in-law). Vimala is a seamstress with decades of bespoke tailoring experience behind her and is responsible for the garment design and production. The core philosophy of Seamstress is that the beauty of the garment lies in the textile & its construct - the cut, fit & finish. Hand weaving is becoming an increasingly rare and dying art form. We at Seamstress prefer to work with with handwoven fabrics, reviving and recreating ancient weaves.
Vimala hand-stitched her first garment at the age of 11. What at first was a hobby turned into serious work and she now has more than 30 years of experience with bespoke tailoring. She started her first unit from Kochi (Kerala, India) in the 80's called Ideal Cholis and went on to have units in Udupi, Trivandrum and now, we are based in Thrissur (Kerala, India). A seamstress , Vimala’s expertise lies in the superior cut and perfect finish of each garment. All our work men are personally trained by her.
As for me, I graduated from the Indian Institute of Management - Bangalore in 2000 and subsequently worked with Coca-Cola & the RPG Group (Saregama). Over the years helping Vimala (my mother-in-law) made me want to learn more about weaving & pattern-making. I now work with weavers & craftsmen all across India, reviving ancient weaves & crafts. I am currently working with weavers across Kerala, designing & adapting age old weaving techniques to create new textile forms. When I work with handloom weavers, I learning their unique weaving techniques and then create textile designs that capture the essence of their technique but with a contemporary spin.
We have a Store Manager - Neethu and a Production Manager - Akhil, two cutters - Jose & Shaji and 5 tailors. The garments are designed & tailored at our store and design studio located in a town called Thrissur in the idyllic southern Indian state of Kerala and are shipped from there.
Designing for us is a very organic process. It starts from the fabric always - the mood the fabric evokes is translated into the garment. We make dresses, jackets, tops, tunics, blouses, kurtas and sarees. Our production is entirely in-house.
The Kaithari Project
( Kaithari meaning handwoven in Malayalam. Kai<Malayalam>=Hand and Thari<Malayalam>=Weave )
Since 2014, Vimala & I have been hard at work on a project very close to our hearts - working with the handloom weavers of Kerala. We christened this "The Kaithari Project" (Kaithari meaning handwoven in Malayalam. Kai<Malayalam>=Hand and Thari<Malayalam>=Weave). We've travelled the length of Kerala visiting weaving co-operatives and mapping unique weaving techniques to each region. We have come up with textile designs that bring out the unique weaving tradition specific to each geographical region. While one is accustomed to associating Kerala handlooms with the kora (white) and gold, our attempt has been to infuse a riot of colours, inspired by the lush vibrance of Kerala. A little design intervention, a play of colours & textures, a slight tweak to the original.
For us, The Kaithari Project is a richly rewarding journey of discovery & learning - we have taken away much more than we have contributed. This is our ode to the rich weaving heritage of Kerala.
Do take a look and if there is anything you would like to know, please mail us at rasmi [!at] seamstress.co.in
Love,
Rasmi
