History Of Costume Is Engaged In An Adventure Of Vast Absorbing Dimensions. For The First Time A Dedicated Unique Collection Of Exquisite And Profusely Elaborated Costumes Of Rulers Of Mewar Has Been Prepared. The Author Has Made A Conscientious Effort To Present A Guideline For The Construction Of Garments, Textiles Used, Jewellery And Footwear Worn With The Costumes. The Coloured Photographs And Diagrams Explain All The Time-Honoured Traditions Of The Past And Present. The Book Will Be Immensely Useful To Apparel Designers, Merchants, Theatre People, Students, Historians, Artists As Well As To The Fashion Houses In Europe And America Which Are Always In Search Of Exotic Styles Of Dresses For Their Clients.
Supported By Beautiful Illustrations, The Study Reconstructs The Glorious History Of The Rajput House Of Mewar, Perhaps The World S Oldest Ruling Family. It Recounts Its Heroic Battlefield Engagements And Examines Its Artistic And Literary Achievements.
In today’s world of unequal globalization, Bangladesh has drawn international attention for the spate of factory disasters that have taken the lives of numerous garment workers, mostly young women. The contemporary garment industry—and the labor organizing pushing back—draws on a long history of gendered labor division and exploitation in East Bengal, the historical antecedent of Bangladesh. Yet despite the centrality of women’s labor to anticolonial protest and postcolonial state-building, historiography has struggled with what appears to be its absence from the archive. Poulomi Saha offers an innovative account of women’s political labor in East Bengal over more than a century, one that suggests new ways to think about textiles and the gendered labors of their making. An Empire of Touch argues that women have articulated—in writing, in political action, in stitching—their own desires in their own terms. They produce narratives beyond women’s empowerment and independence as global and national projects; they refuse critical pronouncements of their own subjugation. Saha follows the historical traces of how women have claimed their own labor, contending that their political commitments are captured in the material objects of their manufacture. Her analysis of the production of historical memory through and by the bodies of women spans British colonialism and American empire, anticolonial nationalism to neoliberal globalization, depicting East Bengal between development economics and postcolonial studies. Through a material account of text and textile, An Empire of Touch crafts a new narrative of gendered political labor under empire.
After years of searching through dusty museum collections and royal stores across India, acclaimed designer Ritu Kumar has uncovered many of the last surviving examples of traditional royal clothing. Her book is a celebration of this rich legacy of textiles and craftsmanship. This in-depth study of the evolution of Indian royal costume spans the centuries from the first representations of clothing in ancient India, through the reign of the Mughal emperors and the days of the British Raj, to Indian independence and royalty in the present day. The author covers both men's and women's garments, Hindu and Muslim styles, and documents the evolution of European-Indian fashions. This sumptuous volume is illustrated with a variety of material, much of which has never been published before ranging from archive photographs, miniatures, royal portraits and cinema stills, to detailed images of garments and textiles from as far back as the seventeenth century. A separate section explains in detail the techniques behind the traditional crafts of weaving, dyeing, printing and embroidery, with sketches and patterns illustrating a variety of garments. Specially commissioned photographs of members of royalty wearing their traditional clothes emphasise the colour, shape, ornament and texture of these stunning costumes. This royal family album is supplemented by stories of royal India told to the author by the last Rajmatas who still remember the splendours of courtly life. AUTHOR: Ritu Kumar is one of India's foremost designers, who has developed a unique style combining the ancient traditions of Indian craftsmanship with contemporary innovations. She began her work many years ago in a small village near Calcutta with just four hand-block printers and a couple of tables. 360 colour & 100 b/w illustrations
Providing Exquisite Photographs, The Author Describes Udaipur S Beautiful City Palace Its Royal Apartments, Gardens And Fountains And Discusses Its Museum Exhibits, Particularly Their Historical Archaeological And Artistic Relevance.
It Presents The History And Culture Of Rajasthan S Greatest Fortified Citadel And Mewar S Ancient Capital, Chittorgarh. It Narrates The Heroic Sagas Of Its Warriors And Describes Its Beautiful Palaces, Temples And Lakes.
