A rich tradition of constructed, stitched and draped clothing is concentrated in the regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The region has witnessed the arrival of a great many people of varied cultures and costume traditions that has resulted in a synthesis of these diverse influences. While there are several studies on traditional textiles by historians, anthropologists, and ethnographers, the same attention has not been given from the design perspective.

This book attempts to address this lacuna and provides a rich resource for designers and students of design. An in-depth analysis studies the cultural, design-centric and technical aspects of the clothes, further complemented by a profuse use of photographs, colour illustrations and line drawings demonstrating the transformation of flat fabric into three dimensional mapping of the body.

A rich tradition of constructed, stitched and draped clothing is concentrated in the regions of Gujarat and Rajasthan. The region has witnessed the arrival of a great many people of varied cultures and costume traditions that has resulted in a synthesis of these diverse influences. While there are several studies on traditional textiles by historians, anthropologists, and ethnographers, the same attention has not been given from the design perspective.

This book attempts to address this lacuna and provides a rich resource for designers and students of design. An in-depth analysis studies the cultural, design-centric and technical aspects of the clothes, further complemented by a profuse use of photographs, colour illustrations and line drawings demonstrating the transformation of flat fabric into three dimensional mapping of the body.

About the Author: Madhurima Patni is a practising textile designer and teacher. She is a graduate in Painting from the M S University, Baroda, India, and also holds a post graduate diploma in Industrial Design from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, India. She has been one of the chief architects of the education programmes in Textile and Apparel design where she worked for over twenty years. Patni later cofounded and ran a design and block printing company, Gitto , known for its design, qualityand craftsmanship.

She led a research project on the textiles and garments of Rajasthan and Gujarat which was the precursor for setting up the Apparel Design programme at the NID in the mid-80s. The outcome of this research is this publication offering a valuable design resource of traditional stitched and draped clothing of the region for both students and practitioners of design.