Indian handicrafts play an important role in both design and the fashion industry. Many Indian designers incorporate traditional handicrafts like embroidery, textiles, and metalwork into their contemporary designs, helping to preserve crafts and provide employment. Notable designers like Ritu Kumar, Rohit Bal, and Manish Malhotra are pioneers in blending Indian handicrafts with modern silhouettes. They have helped make Indian textiles and crafts popular globally. The government also supports handicrafts through initiatives that promote craft exports and public-private partnerships to help artisans market their products more widely.

1. Role Of Handicraft In
Designing
Presented by:
Mona Verma
Ph.D Research scholar,
I.C . College of Home Science, CCSHAU, hisar
125004

2. Handicraft is man's first technology, the technology of the hand. A
handicraft at its finest represents man's need to create simultaneously
with mind and hand. India is one of the important suppliers of
handicrafts to the world market.
The Indian handicrafts industry is highly labour intensive cottage
based industry and decentralized, being spread all over the country in
rural and urban areas.
INTRODUCTION

3. Handicrafts are items made by hand, often with the use of simple tools, and
are generally artistic or traditional in nature. They include objects of utility
and objects of decoration. Many Indian handicrafts have aesthetic richness and
decorative values which have become world famous.
For example the artisans who made patta chitra and applique work exclusively
for the religious functions in the Lord Jagannath temple in Puri, Orissa developed
their skill to make these crafts internationally well-known .
The Madhubani paintings of Bihar, Kalighat paintings of West Bengal and a
number of striking metal crafts, stone carvings and wood carvings from Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh have become popular both in our
native as well as international markets .
What is Handicraft???

4. Numerous artisans are engaged in crafts work on part-time basis. The
industry provides employment to over six million artisans (including those
in carpet trade), which include a large number of women and people
belonging to the weaker sections of the society.
In addition to the high potential for employment, the sector is
economically important from the point of low capital investment, high
ratio of value addition, and high potential for export and foreign exchange
earnings for the country.
 India, a country with 36 states and UT and 22 languages and more
than 1500 dialects offers an enormous range of handicrafts from each
of the states.

5.  Major centres in Uttar Pradesh are Moradabad also known as the
"Peetalnagari" (City of Brass), Saharanpur for its wooden articles,
Ferozabad for Glass.
The North Western state of Rajasthan has to offer the famous
Jaipuri quilts, Bagru and Sanganer printed textiles and wooden and
wrought iron furniture from Jodhpur.
The coastal state of Gujarat comes with embroidered articles from
Kutch. Narsapur in Andhra Pradesh is famous for its Lace and Lace
goods.

6. The handicrafts and cottage industries sector comprises of Handicrafts, Coir, Salt,
Khadi & Village Industries activities, which are mainly artisan based or known as
household industry. The main characteristics of this sector are:
1. Skill based
2. Employment oriented
3. Use of simple technology
4. Low Capital investment
5. Utilization of Local Resources
6. No. electric power consumption
7. Eco-friendly
8. Linked with traditional culture
9. Demand in the market
10. High ratio of value addition to the investment
11. Economic & social empowerment of women and weaker section of the society.
Characteristics of Handicrafts sector

7. Craft wise Artisans As per the
survey conducted there are 1, 11,
058 numbers of Handicrafts
artisans practicing various crafts in
the state. The number of artisans
(Craft wise) is mentioned below:

8. Crafts Globalization
India opened up its economy and adapted to globalisation in
the early nineties. Major changes initiated as a part of the
liberalisation and globalisation strategy included scrapping of
the industrial licensing regime, reduction in the number of
areas reserved for the public sector, start of the privatisation
programme, reduction in tariff rates etc.
Since the advent of globalization in 1991, India has
experienced a lot and accordingly the society has undergone
many changes in different spheres. Though the forces of
globalization have ample positive effects in the long-run in
many sectors of our economy and society, some of its
repulsive implications against the poor in many cases have
worried our development strategists.

9. If we suspend the later for a moment, one of the
growing sector benefited out of it, is the Handicraft
industry with 'Indian handicrafts export crossing
Rs.1,220/- crores in 1990-91 from merely 10 crores in
the mid fifties.‘ Again the Ministry of Textiles data
show, it increased to Rs. 4517.52 crores in 1994-95 and
Rs. 7206.79 crores in 2000-01.
Indian handicrafts are now available in global markets,
so also foreign crafts in our shops.
Handicrafts constitute a significant segment of the
decentralized sector of our economy and its importance
is being felt when it is assessed that it provides
employment to lakhs of artisans scattered especially in
the weaker sections of our society.

10. The traditional handicrafts are
being revived and suited to
modern tastes through the
artistic guidance of designers
to ensure that the products
made meet market demand
and thus get higher prices.

11. Emphasizing on the greater value of the arts and crafts, T.M. Abraham
wrote:
“the world of art and craft is as valuable as the world of science, philosophy or
ethics. Like art, crafts reflect the state of human society through the
individual. Craft treasures like art's, give us a glimpse into the core and
kernel of the collective mind and societies through the mirror of individual
mind that createdthem” .
As said above there are numerous varieties of art crafts in India which are
made with attractive designs and meticulous craftsmanship.

12. Crafts are very much an economic activity, and the centre of the
development process is marketing. The customer does not buy out of a sense
of sympathetic concern for the artisan; the product must be competitive in
price, pleasing in aesthetics, and efficient and useful in functionality.
The product can only be marketable if it is attractive to the consumer,
that is, if traditional skill is adapted and designed to suit contemporary
consumer tastes and needs.
Craft producers cannot be economically viable unless their product is
marketable, and this is where design intervention plays a critical role in
ensuring this viability, in matching technique with function.
Crafts Items Need To Be Modified For Marketting

13. Role Of
Handicraft In
Fashion Industry

14. Fashion industry of India has seen a boom and gained popularity in world as
a fashion centric nation. Earlier, not many people knew about India and Indian
fashion. However, today India is a renowned nation famous for its elegant
woman’s attire named “Saree” and the fabric.
India is a diverse nation and doesn’t have a unique or a standard dressing
style. This diversification of dressing style has given Indian fashion designers
ample scope of creativity. The end result of mixing such diverse dressing styles
was FUSION.
Right from the traditional salwar kameez or sarees to churidars, kurtis, the
semi formal way of wearing it over trousers or jeans, capris and the highly
elegant and contemporary style of draping sarees, from simply cotton blouses to
halter-neck, puffed sleeves, deep necks, and lycra-fitted blouses.

15. Handloom Sarees
Banarasi Handloom Silk Sarees
Handloom Tussar Silk
Sarees
Baluchari
Handloom Sarees
Handloom Tant Sarees Kantha Sarees
Colorful Sambhalpuri
Sarees
Exclusive Munga
Sarees
Ethnic Bafta Sarees
Chanderi Silk Sarees
Ikkat Patola Silk Sarees
Pure Kanjivaram
Sarees
Bandhini Sarees

16. Apart from regional attires, the Bollywood element also holds a
domineering part in Indian Fashion style.
Let us have a look at the faces who have taken Indian Fashion and
Indian Fashion Industry at the top most level. These are the best
known faces of the International Fashion Industry.

17. The traditional, ornamental look was easily accepted by customers. More
important, however, was that Indian designers' use of traditional textiles and
craft techniques enabled them to claim that they were helping to preserve the
Indian heritage of dyeing skills and rural crafts.
Pioneering designer Ritu Kumar said, “The Indian fashion industry is
essentially a craft-based industry and the craftsmen are integral to the
industry. Her whole interest has been that we should not lose our craft
identity”.
The notion that Indian textiles and traditional crafts were both unique and
integral to high-end fashion was deeply rooted and widespread. The reflection
of India's vast heritage of arts and crafts. Many of today's top-notch designers
incorporate traditional arts creating a distinct identity for themselves. And, in
the process, help to conserve traditional Indian craftsmanship.

18.  Each state has its distinctive embroidery traditions from
religious motifs to images from nature and art.
 These are then used to embellish a diverse range of items
from home accessories to fashion accessories to clothes.

19. Role of fashion designers in
promoting handicraft

20. Designers are an interface between tradition and modernity, helping
match craft production to the needs of modern Living. Crafts thus need
designers to bridge the gap and allow them to compete with the products
and practices of modern industrialization.
Craft, if it is to be utility-based and economically viable, cannot be
static. It must respond to changes in markets, consumer needs, fashion
trends and usage preferences.
It is the role of the designer to interpret these changes, with
sensitivity and understanding, to the artisans, who are removed
pomp their new markets.

21. The early designers in India therefore focused on designing ornate,
heavily embellished Indian-style clothing. This tactic helped them to
achieve several goals and to overcome the hurdles they faced.
First, customers liked such garments better than Western designs.
Second, creating Indian-style clothing allowed the designers to use
luxurious traditional Indian textiles and to attach various kinds of
traditional embellishments to them, such as beads, gold thread and sequins,
without hurting the design consistency, or "look," of the garment.
Moreover, these decorative elements helped to differentiate the new
styles from available alternatives, such as clothing stitched by tailors and
wedding saris woven in a traditional manner and at the same time provide
the employment to the other crafts persons.

22. Today, Indian Fashion designers are well known faces in the International Fashion
Industry and it is because of these fashion designers that India is in the list of top
countries. The Indian fabric and Indian textile is equally popular and in demand in
international markets.
Rohit Bal : Titled as the ‘India’s Master of fabric and fantasy’
by the Time magazine in 1996, Rohit Bal’s sense of aesthetics is
finely honed, and each of his creations is handcrafted to
perfection, with meticulous attention to detail.
He has access to the best the industry has to offer in terms of
materials and workmanship. From villages where local
craftsmen weave dreams with magic fingers, to factories,
workshops and outlets where retailers jostle for survival, to the
opulent grandeur of glitzy boutiques and malls at the best
addresses in the big cities of high fashion.

23. One of the earliest and reputed fashion diva amongst
fashion buffs, Ritu Kumar has developed a unique style of
her own. Her designs reflects the ancient traditions of
Indian craftsmanship in a contemporary fashion. Ritu
Kumar’s understanding of ancient designs and the
innovative use of traditional crafts has created a new
classicism. Ritu holds the status of a revivalist in the
Indian fashion industry, which has successfully bridged
the gap between traditionalism and modernity.
A true pioneer in Indian fashion, Kumar has been
recognized with prestigious awards including France’s
Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and India’s Padmi Shri
Award for her contributions to fashion, textiles and
craftsmanship.
Ritu Kumar

24. The revolutionary fusion of traditional crafts
and contemporary haute couture generates an
alluring, urbane, one-of-a kind handiwork is the
signature of the House of Valaya.
Valaya has rejuvenated and redefined age-old
Indian crafts as a profitable niche within the
cosmopolitan market, allowing the valued artistic
processes to live on despite the pressures of
globalization.
JJ Valaya

25. Revolutionizing costume design and having
introduced the concept of styling in Indian Bollywood
films has made Manish Malhotra one of the most
recognized names in the fashion industry globally.
Manish Malhotra’s areas of creativity span the broad
spheres of Bollywood, design, styling, diffusion and
everlasting bridal couture.
He creates glamorous ensembles with Indian
traditional colors, textures, embroideries, and
craftsmanship.
Manish Malhotra

26. One of the most stunning fashion shows of Wills
Lifestyle India Fashion Week 2013 was
undoubtedly Manish Malhotra's "Mijwan Sonnets
in Fabric" showcasing Chikankari embroidery by
village women from Mijwan.
Everyone was stunned, riveted and absolutely
ashamed of their ignorance of the wonderful artistry
of Chikan, which belongs to the same pedestal
as more globally prominent textile art forms
like French Laid Embroidery(White Work), 18th
century lace-like embroidery known
as Dresden or Ayreshire embroidery from 19th
century Scotland.
Chikan embroidery by the village girls from Mijwan
In the past one year, Manish
Malhotra, the label has taken up
the responsible initiative to
promote regional handicrafts and
workmanship from rural India. One
such initiative is the association
with Shabana Azmi’s “Mijwan
Welfare Society”. The label has
adopted 45 girl workers from the
village of Mijwan, near
Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh for
their intricate and exclusive hand
embroidered chikankari.

27. The only Indian designers to win an
accolade at the Milan Fashion Week
2014, Rahul Mishra is known for
incorporating traditional Indian textiles
and handicrafts to his designs.
His signature style is classic and
subtle, perfect for a sophisticated look
anywhere in the world.
Rahul Mishra

28. Designer Vaishali Shadangule gives old India a new look
Designer Vaishali Shadangule uses traditional weaves and textiles in Western and
contemporary dresses. Shadangule made her debut at the Lakme Fashion Week in
2011, in which she showed well-crafted Indian dresses in Chanderi and Paithani prints.
It was perhaps the first time that these fabrics had been cut into dresses, for till then
they were only woven into 5.5-metre saris.
The designer had reached out to the weavers of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh and
Paithani in Maharashtra to incorporate their designs into fabrics suitable for cutting
into dresses.

29. • Fashion designers and
craftsmen today create crafts
whose designs and
ornamental motifs are truly
characteristic of India, and
these have become the
inspiration for future
generations.

30. In 1990, the Delhi based designer, Ritu Kumar presented her first Khadi collection, Tree of
Life, which helped put Khadi in the fashion circuit. With increasing interest of the western world
in use of handloom and Khadi, many Indian designers began to use Khadi for their designs. The
government also made efforts to promote Khadi. In September 2000, Vasundhara Raje,
Minister for Small Scale Industries, initiated a movement to revive all the 7,000 KVIC shops
in India and make Khadi more fashionable and affordable.
Reviving Khadi: From Freedom Fabric to Fashion Fabric
In January 2002, a high-profile textile exhibition, featuring Khadi ensembles designed by
prominent Indian designers, was launched in New Delhi to popularise the traditional hand-
spun cotton. The idea of the exhibition was to promote wholly hand spun, hand woven and
hand patterned fabric, as a unique luxury product. The exhibition displayed western as
well as traditional Indian attire made from the finest Khadi available in the country.
Besides, nearly 110 varieties of the fabric (from the sheerest to the coarsest) were
showcased. Designer Rakesh Thakore, whose collection was showcased in the exhibition
commented, "If packaged well, Khadi can be sold internationally.

31. Revival of Khadi Cotton- From freedom fabric to
fashion fabric

32.  The Government of India has encouraged a public-
private partnership which aims to
 Promote the handicrafts industry
 To help introduce its products to a larger market
through the internet to offer employment and growth
opportunities for the artisans.
 The indian government could make different
memoranda of understanding (mou) for export of
crafts goods to foreign countries while dealing with
trade related agreements.
Role of Government

33.  To deal with the handicrafts related issues, the All India Handicrafts
Board was established in 1952.
to study the problems confronting the handicrafts
to improve and develop the production techniques and new designs to
suit the changing tastes and
to promote marketing in India and abroad.
However all of these have to be implemented wholeheartedly by the
government agencies. Add to it, various cooperatives, voluntary
associations also need to put sincere effort for the better working condition
of the artists.

34. Every year during the first fortnight of February, Surajkund in Faridabad - Haryana, transforms
into a colourful craft and cultural hub for national and international forms of handicrafts.
The Surajkund International Crafts Mela offers an exquisite platform for craftsmen from India
and abroad to showcase their handicrafts and promote it on a significant scale.
The entire assemblage is set around the ancient reservoir ‘Surajkund’, in an area sprawling over
40 acres. Every year the Mela is organised on a theme and one of the states of India is chosen the
‘theme state’ and given a chance to exhibit their indigenous arts. Handicrafts exhibited in the
Surajkund Mela aesthetically feature the rich sculpting, casting,
carving , moulding and painting arts, aboriginal to India.
It celebrates the variety of Indian craft from various corners of the
country.
Initiative Taken By Government Of Haryana For Promoting Handicraft

35.  These organizations both aim to serve as support structures for
the artisans, to fill the gap between them and the marketplace.
 Ensure that they are able to continue this important aspect of
cultural heritage, which has suffered in the past because of market
barriers like poor infrastructure, little information on market
demand and full reliance on middlemen to transport and market
their crafts.
 The handicrafts industry can serve as a viable engine for rural
economic growth, offering employment to seasonal farm labourers
as well as women workers, based out of their homes.
Role of Organizations

36.  Without these support structures, this industry and its
workers are vulnerable to
 Exploitation
 Dwindling market demand &
 Eventual decline
Because the handicrafts of a country tell its story to its own
people as well as to the outside world, this would truly be a
devastating cultural loss.

37. RECOGNITION
TO MASTER CRAFTMEN
 Since 1965 the Government of India, Office of the Development
Commissioner (Handicrafts) and the Office of the Development
Commissioner (Handlooms), have, been jointly implementing a
special scheme that confers recognition and honour to the Master
Artisans for their excellence and invaluable contribution to the
crafts and textiles of India.
 In recognition of their talent these Shilpgurus, Master Weavers and
Master Craft persons are honoured with a National Awards, State
awards, National Merit Certificates. Besides these awards several
organizations including UNESCO honour craftsmanship.

38. CRAFTMEN : THE INVISIBLE RESOURSES
The skilled hand of the Indian craftsmen is our most important and yet
most invisible resource.
The workmanship of the Indian craftsmen is so exquisite that throughout the
18th and 19th centuries India was known to other countries on the trade
route more by her crafts than by her art, religion and philosophy.
Remarkable progress has been made in exports of handicrafts since India's
Independence.

39. The Handicrafts and Handlooms Exports Corporation of India
ltd (HHEC)
 Instrumental in promoting Indian handloom fabrics in the west.
 Vast scope for the Indian's handicrafts exports to grow further.
 Indian handicraft's further prospects lies in diversification of
products and markets.
 We have to be ahead of our competitors in keeping ourselves
informed of market trend and changes in fashion and design.

40. Problems Facing
The Crafts and Craft Persons
 In the present globalized and financial liberalized market, owing to the
popularization of machine based low cost and superior quality
consumer goods, the Indian handicraft industry is facing enormous
problems.
 As there has been the evolution of the modern market system economy,
the artisans have lost their holds over the old patron-client market
network and jajmani relationship.
 In the globalization times, the artisans have become increasingly
dependent on middle men like petty merchant capitalists who pay
the artisans in wage on piece rate bases

41.  The government's initiative to create cooperatives has not become much
successful.
 A report says there are over 25lakh crafts persons in India, based mostly in
the villages who are not used to interaction with buyers and don't have the
necessary skills to safeguard their own interests.
 Illiteracy often makes them more vulnerable.
 The village craftsmen in our society remain concerned that with free trade,
mass production, embroidery from other parts of the world will out price the
products of their hard labour.
 Although globalization has so far served the handicrafts sector well, there is
no denial that some of these products will come under attack and India will
not be able to ward that off.

42.  In India various small scale industries have been facing enormous
problems and have failed to compete with the Chinese companies who
have intruded into the Indian market with their low cost products.
 Another problem in India, is that the production matrix of the handicrafts
is structured in such a manner that the crafts persons notwithstanding their
superb skill and artisanship always remain at the receiving end.
 In contrast the trader entrepreneurs or merchant capitalists and the middle
men by virtue of their control over the marketing of the craft-goods
occupy the top position of the production ladder.
 The illiterate artists failing to deal with the modern market system take the
help of these middle men who pocket the actual surplus.

43.  It has compelled the poor artists of the country to shift to and
adopt a more viable occupation.
 A report of the United Nations suggests that in India, over the
past 30 years the number of artisans have declined by at least 30
per cent and many of these artisans are joining the ranks of
casual wage labourers and the informal economy.

44. Intervening Measures
The precarious conditions of the artists needs careful interventions.
Government have been taking different measures to make the handicraft
products globally competitive and the condition of the artisans better.
 The Development Commissioner, Handicrafts has taken various safety
measures for the welfare of the artisans like
◦ Giving training to the artists
◦ Introducing new techniques and designs to meet the demands of the
variety-seeking consumers.
 Besides, organizing exhibition-cum sale of crafts products, opening up of
sales emporium for the handicrafts goods and providing insurances to the
poor craftsperson are also taken up.

45.  The changing roles of the artisans, craftsmen and designers are
emphasized in the context of emerging technology that is capable of
facilitating the preservation, dissemination and generation of new
designs based on decorative forms, and also offers enhanced
capabilities in terms of colour variety and colour differentiation.
It is hoped that the influence of emerging technology will lead to
a renaissance in the field of decorative designing.
Indian textile and costume designs can be innovatively used today
by interchanging motifs and their ornamentations for serving the
world of fashion and also increasing awareness about our rich
cultural heritage.

46.  The production base is much unorganized in Indian handicrafts sector.
The craftsmen use traditional tools and techniques for which the
production base is very weak.
 So for improvement in the quality of production, it is necessary to
upgrade the skill of the artists, who should be supplied with quality raw
material and adequate financial assistance.
 Government should take ample measures to provide with loans and
giving training to the artists. At the same time care should be taken to
ensure that with innovation originality of the crafts is truly maintained.
 To make the craft products internationally well-known and
commercially viable, steps should be taken together by the Ministry of
Information, Commerce and Tourism.

47. National Agencies working for the Export Promotion of
the Textiles and Handicrafts
 Confederation of Indian apparel Exporters
 Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council
 Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council
 Apparel Export Promotion Council
 Handloom Export Promotion Council
 Wool & Woollen Export Promotion Council

48. National Agencies working for the Export Promotion
of the Textiles and Handicrafts
 Power looms Development & Export Promotion Council
 National Centre for Textile Design
 Carpet Export Promotion Council
 Indian Silk Export Promotion Council
 Central Silk Board
 Northern India Textile Research Association

49. At present, the office of Development Commissioner (Handicraft) is
implementing the following seven schemes for promotion and
development of handicraft sector:
(i) Baba Saheb Hastshilp Vikas Yojana
(ii) Design and Technology Up-gradation
(iii) Marketing Support and Services
(iv) Research and development
(v) Human and Resource Development
(vi) Handicrafts Artisans Comprehensive Welfare Scheme
(vii) Infrastructure and Technology Development Scheme

50. The village craftsmen are gradually losing
interest in their traditional business. The
marketing intermediaries like agents and
brokers are collecting the products at a
very low price and selling or exporting
those at a very high rate. They are also not
paying them their dues in time. Realizing
the above difficulties the Govt. has divided
the state into different clusters and has
appointed cluster manager who provides
all kind of marketing supports.
Conclusion

51. In most of the handicraft sectors
women, especially house wives play
predominant role and contribute for
increasing household income. At
present there are more than 5 lakh
SHG’s engaged in various micro
entrepreneurship.
The growth of tourism can give
ample scope for development of
rural entrepreneurship with the
help of increasing handicraft
production and marketing scope.

52. There is need for integrating tourism
with handicraft sectors, which can
provide lots of scope for development of
rural entrepreneurship. The government
should focus on handicrafts growth and
boost the morale of the rural artisan. It
seems that the future of handicraft sectors
is very bright.