September 23: Indian fashion is not just reds and yellows and is not limited to festival relevance. It is an art form that is celebrated worldwide and the fans swear by Indian prints and weaves when it comes to showing off their legacy and taste – both! However, given the rage for authentic Indian prints and weaves like bandhani, block prints, Ajrakh, Ikkat, Pochampally, etc, there is a huge grey market of phonies. It is easy to give the semblance of a block-printed garment to a piece of polyester run through a machine. True connoisseurs can spot the difference almost immediately but many others are tricked by sellers and end up paying a premium for these.
House of Elegance, a venture, based in Delhi, is making waves in the space by bringing original hand-crafted garments and home linen to Indian and international fans alike. The team works directly with artisans and craftsmen from the talent hubs based in rural India and ensures that only what’s real gets onto their website. A meticulous quality check and approval process follows right after the products are procured. Their range is almost all-encompassing – from sarees & suits to bedsheets, bedcovers, table linen, and everything you as a fashionista can think of! The collection is all about traditional Indian prints and weaves rendered on high-quality fabrics with a 400 TC+ for home linen. Handwoven Maheshwari & Banarasi silk sarees and suits are a great pick when it comes to House of Elegance’s collection. But they also have a huge variety of suits & sarees in cotton, cotton silk, and modal silk fabrics. All these fabrics are not only the very best for skin because of their high breathability and gentleness, but also, have a very rich look & feel. People worldwide swear by them for this very reason and it is something that polyester, rayon, and other synthetic fabrics can simply not replicate. No wonder their customers love their Banarasi silk sarees to the extent that they’re a rage! It is no longer difficult to don an original Banarasi saree without having to worry about being duped, thanks to the House of Elegance! They are also soon launching Kanjivaram sarees and Phochampally Ikkat sarees!
“We are a brand committed to bringing the enchanting world of Indian prints and weaves to wearable fashion. The word Indian wear has elegance boldfaced in it and we celebrate just that. Traditional Indian prints and weaves that are both contemporary and elegant are what we are all about,” Devi Vanti mentions with pride while talking about her journey of founding the business and making inroads into a world largely left to profit-raking companies to exploit. She and her team work with artisans from rural areas of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, etc. – the places where these prints had their genesis in the times of the yore. When you shop at House of Elegance, be assured that you’re wearing or adorning your house with a masterpiece in itself that celebrates Indian art and directly benefits the OG artists!
