Through a decade of detailing and upgrading craft
of Lucknow and Kotwara, Meera & Muzaffar Ali have
brought centuries' old tradition back to life. Both
Chikan and Zardozi today have become contemporary
and the label of KOTWARA is internationally associated
with the philosophy of clothes that integrates aesthetics
and humanity, peace and harmony. The wearer of Kotwara,
experiences an inner tranquillity as a contrast to
a highly consumerist outlook. Living Sufism has been
able to establish a hitherto unknown genre of clothing
created amidst nature and music with love and sensitivity.
Their endeavour has been to look at style in the broadest
sense of the concept and create products with a universal
appeal and relevance. By using the sense of fine detailing,
which has evolved in India over the centuries, the
range extends from innovations in Indian and western
forms using simple craft techniques of chikan, zardozi,
tukdi and appliqué with hand detailing to create dramatic
effects. The label of Kotwara has thus acquired a
style of its own which is both avant-garde and traditional
and evokes an image which is an interesting blend
of detailing and innovation, modernity and old world
charm. From the traditional Lehnga they have a wide
range of western forms from long coats to shorter
jackets, dresses, skirts and trousers. They are gently
quilted, subtly embroidered and delicately hand finished.
Clothes for Meera and Muzaffar Ali are the epitome
of inner grace, and for that matter they don't have
to be expensive. They are the essence of nostalgia,
the fragrance of the present, and the dream of the
future. When Muzaffar sketches clothes he designs
in a trance, made of moments of the past and present,
and projects them as valuables that people would cherish.
To him these clothes are sacred as they enclose the
temple of the human form. *Muzaffar Ali, filmmaker,
painter and designer, draws deep inspiration from
Sufi poetry and music. He stepped into designing through
his films and his deep involvement with his village
made craft an ongoing relationship and a means of
providing employment for the rural craftspeople of
Kotwara. Each day in Kotwara they dream to look ahead,
create new feelings, innovate new details. Not only
with the craft but the life of the craftswomen and
her children, their education, outlook and livelihood.
Since 1990, Meera & Muzaffar Ali have held several
fashion shows in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore,
Madras, Singapore, Kuwait, London and New York.
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