12. CHINTZ IN FASHION AND TEXTILES TODAY

Majorly in the Netherlands, the traditional costumes worn in the golden age have disappeared almost completely. There is the exception of a remote villages where the local Dutch people still value the traditional dressing style. The costumes remain an important element of heritage for the Dutch. A meaningful dress tradition, as well as the wealth of colours and patterns that characterises the fabrics, make these ethnic costumes an interesting source of inspiration for designers all over the world who add the essence of contemporary nature to bring the overall look compatible to the dressing criteria in the today’s modern world. In this way, the heritage is preserved in a reflective and creative way for further generations. The Dutch designers in particular use traditional dress as inspiration to express their local or national identity.

As Dutch fashion brands are relatively new compared to other established ones in the fashion industry, they do not have a specific stylistic approach. Dutch designers transform the traditional costume shapes, character, and techniques to make the clothing items competitive in the market.

One such renowned collection is the Fashion Show collection (F/W 2007/2008) by Viktor & Rolf for which they took inspiration from the traditional costumes of the Netherlands. The collection spanned derivations from different regional dress styles and presented a combination of them. Viktor & Rolf also used, among many other styles and techniques, the Staphorster stipwerk, a painting technique from Staphorst which was a result of the style of Indian Chintz. The couture garments had an overall look of patchwork and mix and match of different Chintz patterns (fig.98, 99, 100).

The colour pallet preferred by the Dutch in the golden age of Chintz has evolved into shocking pink, hard blue, fierce turquoise, curry yellow, olive green, crimson red The People of the Labyrinths (1984–2014) and high street brands like Mac&Maggie (1976–1996) and CoraKemperman (1995–2017), as well as today by Scotch & Soda (1985–present) use Chintz in such colours and convert the silhouettes into modern day chic dresses and other garments.

In particular, a Dutch brand has developed a rather postmodern style using Chintz. It is Oilily, a children’s brand that creates garments mixing and matching various costumes of fishing or farming villages such as Marken, Volen-dam, Staphorst, Hindeloopen and Spakenburg. The most evident reason is that some of these villages are global tourist attractions today, like Marken and Volendam close to Amsterdam, while other villages keep to their belief of faith and reject tourism (fig.101).

The brand has some direct inspirations from the costumes as well. For example the Oilily knitted sweater in bright red is derived from the upper part of the costume of the women from Marken, mimicking the striped sleeves of the regional costume.

In an article, the designer Marieke Olsthoorn of Oilily has spoken about the importance of usage of Chintz in the Dutch regional dress that was at a point the highlight of the costumes worn at the time and because of its multi-coloured patterns, many of the surface designs of the brand hint at those stylistic patterns (fig.102, 103 & 104)

13. THE IMPACT OF POST COLONIALISM ON INDIAN TEXTILE PRODUCTION

In 1858 the VOC was officially abolished, and the British took control of the governing of India. This marked the beginning of the mid 18th century where most of Europe, especially England was producing its own version of the Chintz fabric. Chintz remained fashionable then and later the demands faded as time passed. However, the English chintz reached new heights during the Victorian era when it was mass produced in Britain due to the development of mechanical advancements in the industrial revolution.

Slowly the British had set up the concept of mills that was further taken forward by certain Indian industrialists particularly from western India, Bombay and Ahmedabad They introduced new technology that could shorten the process of production in the sector of printing on fabrics. As a result, the textile mills were a success which in turn led these entrepreneurs to eventually join cause with the ‘swadeshi movement’ or the made in India movement as a way to rid Indian businesses of the heavy-handed British control and intervention in those times (fig.105)

India’s freedom struggle was led by Gandhi who mobilized handwoven khadi as a tool for most Indians to reconnect with for political action and chose it as the symbol to address the humble weavers' cotton spinning tool, the charkha. While textile production in India remains an important industry, a good percentage of it is still exported to various countries such as in Europe. The whole industry has come in one full circle because till date the fineness and quality made in India is not easy to achieve and more reasons are it is easy to produce and manufacture prime quality textile products there. This export or overseas market to Europe and America is created with specific demands and criteria so much as these specific designs are so fine that they are not even sold or meant to be seen by the local buyers in India. It is ironic that such prime quality products are produced in India and are not allowed or sold in India but are sold to the luxury brands elsewhere.