Jamdani shirts @ Indian Peacock, Hyderabad Nine years ago, this 41-year-old Hyderabad-based architect ventured into the world of handloom with two questions: why do the finest Indian textiles and craftsmanship live in a cupboard, waiting for a wedding, and why does the shirt you wear to work come from a factory? “It made no sense because handcrafted fabrics breathe better, age better, sit better on the body, and stand out. But somewhere along the way, handloom got filed under ‘ethnic’ wear. This label shrinks centuries of tradition into a costume category,” says Preethi Pathireddy, who went on to launch The Indian Peacock “to pull handwoven and handcrafted textiles out of the occasion and into the ordinary week, the office, the airport, a regular Tuesday. Architecture and fashion start with design and my transition seemed seamless.”
A kurta at Indian Peacock
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Special Arrangement
Here, she retails tops, co-ord sets, kurta sets, and shirts, crafted by weavers and artisans across a few clusters: Mangalgiri weavers from Andhra Pradesh, jamdani weavers from West Bengal, ikat weavers in Telangana, and dabu and Bagru hand block printers from Rajasthan. “We develop our fabrics with them from scratch, including thread count, colours, and patterns. Our jamdanis and block prints, for instance, are woven and printed specifically for menswear, to our specifications. The garment production then happens in-house in Hyderabad,” explains Preethi.
