The Madras check is everywhere in south india and it seems to blend in anywhere. The colour and patterns used are endless and you would imagine that would make it too dispersive as a design to be recognizable but in all it’s avatar’s it is really distinctive. Hard to describe how something so ubiquitous can be so iconic. #iouproject #theiouproject #sustainablefashion #kavitaparmar #heritagetextiles #slowfashion #provenance #whomademyclothes.

While researching into the history of the real madras check it was very hard to find archives that kept records of the developments of the patterns over their more than 700 years of recorded history. Like in most other things keeping exact records doesn’t seem to be a priority of the Indian weavers. They seem to have no concerns about copyright as most of them don’t have the sense of individual ownership. To them this is ancestral knowledge that doesn’t belong to anyone and as they would say over and over again “Who wants to make the exact same thing again anyhow” A hand loom weaver sees no sense in repeating the same design. How boring !!! To each his own , unique, just like us humans. #iouproject #theiouproject #kavitaparmar #madrascheck #sustainablefashion #handloom #organic cotton #heritagetextiles #slowfashion #provenance.

The real Madras check had travelled quite a bit even before the British traders were charmed by it and brought it back to England to copy. It was widely used in south east Asia and even in parts of Africa. The idea these English tradesman had was to make cheaper versions on the industrialized looms in northern England and sell it back to the colonies where it was popular thus compete with what seemed to them, the inefficient hand loom weavers. A century later their descendants would be going back once again searching for cheaper labour still turning the descendants of those handloom weavers into industrial laborers as English laborers were not cheap enough. #iouproject #theiouproject #kavitaparmar #sustainablefashion #organic #heritagetextiles #slowfashion #whomademyclothes #historyoffashion.

The lungi as this Madras check is most popularly known in its place of birth is one of the most ubiquitous pieces of clothing worn in the most versatile ways by men. Each one has his own particular way of tying it and it seems to be the most comfortable style as you see them doing just about everything in it. Once no longer worn they are used as curtains, carry bags, seat cover, baby swings etc etc., it’s seems like they have the most fascinating after life.I love the older more washed ones that seem to have taken on a beautiful patina in the sun. #iouproject #clothingisculture #handwoven #heritagetextiles #sustainablefashion #madrascheck #lungi.

As you travel across India it is fascinating how many versions of the humble lungi you come across, each person has their own interpretation of how to wear it and even though sometimes the patterns look the same on close examination you can see the difference. Each lungi is sold as a 2 mt long cloth about 115 cm wide from edge to edge. Most weavers would take about 6 hours to weave 2 mts of the Madras check in this particular weave. Pics respectfully borrowed from @kenhermann #lungi #heritagetextiles #handwoven #clothingisculture #iouproject #kavitaparmar #sustainablefashion.

The Madras check has a long story that is shrouded in myth and mystery and as is case in most history from india as it was a oral tradition it’s hard to trace it back to an exact moment or tribe. Though most experts would agree that it originated in what is the state of Tamil Nadu today. A cloth similar to it can be found in Africa in south eastern Nigeria and many places in south east Asia where it travelled and was adopted into the local culture. #clothingisculture #iouproject #kavitaparmar #madrascheck #handwoven #sustainablefashion.