Woven from the environment: Madhu Jain on her latest collection

The coarseness of bamboo, the subtlety of silk and the drama of ikat come together in textile conservationist Madhu Jain’s latest collection, notes Heena Khandelwal

Textile conservationist and designer Madhu Jain has been working with bamboo for nearly 15 years and with ikat for three decades. She recently launched a collection in Delhi, by blending the two with silk to create a unique bamboo-silk ikat weave.

“When one thinks of bamboo yarn, the first thought is that it will be coarse and tough on the wearer. That is not true,” says Jain. “The yarn I’ve developed is interspersed with silk yarn, making it soft and extremely comfortable. It is an all-weather textile that breathes well in summer and keeps one warm during winters.”

Jain, who has filed a patent for the fabric, is guarded about the process but reveals that the textile is handwoven and that she has used mulberry silk. Over the years, she has experimented with the thread, its pliability and tensile strength. “The production process of this textile is not that different from that of other textiles,” she says and adds that it was a challenge to ensure a steady source of bamboo supply that doesn’t vary in quality.