Until a few years ago, Ryndia was a rare, little-known silk handloom hand-woven by the women from the remote state of Meghalaya in north-eastern India. Now, a local designer has taken the fabric to the world with his contemporary designs.
Self-taught designer Daniel Syiem discovered the organic, eco-friendly fabric a few years ago, when he visited the Ri Bhoi district in Meghalaya, where it is passed down from one generation of weavers to the next. It is also the only silk which is extracted from cocoons without killing the silkworm.
"That was a life-changing moment for me," Syiem recalled in a TEDx talk in 2015. "I had an instant connection with the fabric."
Syiem gave a modern and minimalist twist to the traditional dresses worn in the state. His clothes feature clean silhouettes and drapes, and follow the philosophy of slow fashion. They are coloured only with locally-sourced vegetable dyes, and come in natural shades ranging from white to earth. They are also accessorised with embellishments made from natural materials.
"There was something which told me that this is what I need to do. I need to work with this fabric and people and promote them," Syiem says in the TEDx talk. He also set up Daniel Syiem's Ethnic Fashion House with Janessaline M Pyngrope. Its slogan? Fashion with a cause.
Syiem's designs with Ryndia have featured in the fashion weeks at London, New York and Toronto. "Our cause is to put our fabric and our people out there in the world," he says, "for people to understand and appreciate."
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));Ryndia: DSEFHHere's a preview of our Audio Visual presentation on the heritage Ryndia (Eri Silk) fabric which is hand-woven by a community of Women Weavers of the indigenous tribe of Meghalaya. Sharing the story of Jemtimai Sujai, a weaver from Umtngam Village, Ri-Bhoi District, Meghalaya who represents the entire weaving community....Posted by Daniel Syiem's Ethnic Fashion House on Wednesday, 16 March 2016