10 Movies that Every Textile Enthusiast should Watch

 

Fast fashion might have made a place in your heart but love for authentic textile, handmade clothes would always be number one.

I am sure while looking at these authentic fabrics you would have been hit by this curiosity of Where do these fabrics come from? Who makes them? What is the whole process?

Worry not we are here to give you a complete background of Where, Who, When, and How of the textile and fashion industry.

Here are my top 10 suggestions of what you should watch if you are a textile enthusiast just like I am:

1. Bunkar: The Last of Varanasi Weavers

I am sure you must have heard about the Banarasi Silk sarees  at least once, today let me tell you a little more about them. Bunkar is a documentary written by Sarah Lucy Beach and directed by Satyaprakash Upadhyay. 

Varanasi is famous for being the hub of luxury textile. Varanasi weavers still do their craft by handloom, and that is what makes it so rich and special. It very beautifully tells the story of weavers who managed to keep their craft alive in today’s world of fast fashion and share stories about their journey with this craft. It especially highlights the fact that many young people engaged in the craft are trying hard to keep it alive. 

This 30 minutes documentary will give you an insight into the lives of weavers who just gave up on giving up.

 

2. The Weavers of Maheshwar

Being a fan of sarees or just rich, lustrous textile, I am guessing you are already aware of Maheshwari silk sarees and if you are not you have to know them now. But where do they come from and who are the artists who made such fine work? 

These gorgeous sarees come from a small town named Maheshwar in Madhya Pradesh. ‘The Weavers of Maheshwar’ is yet another documentary film directed by two college graduates who initially wanted to cover India's different art forms.

After watching this movie, you will understand the plight of the artisans as they tell you how mechanisation brought hard times to their lives.

After watching this 30 min documentary you will acknowledge the value of Maheshwari Saree a little more. 

 

3. Susman

Susman is one movie that is the perfect representation of how small weavers who worked on handlooms faced difficulties in the time when industrialisation was growing. This movie is directed by Shyam Benegal.

It is a 1987 Hindi film and stars famous Indian actors like Shabana Azmi, Om Puri, and many others. Watch this movie if you have a soft spot in your heart for Indian handloom textiles and want the answer to how it is still alive in the era of modernisation.

Depicting the hardships of rural handloom ‘Ikat’ weavers this movie has got the recognition it deserves.

 

4. Manikarnika

Manikarnika being a period drama film based on the life of the real queen of Jhansi might have got you wondering why we have included it in this list. If you see the film solely with the motive of being amazed by the clothes of the whole cast you will agree with us. This movie's costumes are designed by Neeta Lulla, the go-to costume designer of any Bollywood film.

The colour palette for Kangana Ranaut's clothes (the main protagonist of the film) is seen in colors like green, ivory, and beige. The costumes were mainly inspired by photos and manuscripts available in museums and libraries. It might seem a little surprising but the fabric used to make costumes is mainly hand-spun, dyed with natural dyes, khadi fabric.

Now when you watch the movie, observe the costumes closely. You will notice how perfectly this movie adapted everything from the era of real Jhansi ki Rani.

 

5. Bajirao Mastani

Bajirao Mastani is the perfect film to see the clothes of two different cultures blending. In my opinion, this movie inspires your inner designer to create fusions and splurge your creativity to maybe create various Indo-western outfits.

Right from the beginning of the movie we see the characters dressed in one common outfit that was Anrakhas. Be it Bajirao or Mastani they were all seen in Anrakhras and multiple layers of clothes. Priyanka Chopra was mainly dressed in 9-yard sarees but they were specially made in  cotton silk  (Generally these are not in cotton silk) and can be seen in lighter colors like lotus pink and shades of purple.

 As you see this movie with a perspective of fashion only, you will notice that design flows and aesthetic gels up in the whole movie.

 

6. Jodha Akbar

While watching Jodha Akbar two things that got us hooked on the movie were the chemistry between Jodha and Akbar and the costumes of the whole cast. The costumes of the movie are designed by Neeta Lulla. 

Few things that immediately got our attention were the clothes and the jewelry worn by both Jodha and Akbar. If you notice the color palette for the film is mostly warm tones which are molded keeping in mind the grandiosity of that era for both Muslims and Rajputs. 

Neeta used fabrics like  brocade, silk, and cotton for making the costumes. To maintain the richness of both the cultures Zardozi and Kundan stones are embedded in the embroidery. All the clothes of the characters seem to fit their personalities in the movie. 

This movie is a perfect combination if you want romance with knowledge of textile from that era.

 

7. Kalank

If you want a major outfit inspiration for the wedding season, Kalank is the right movie for you. This movie makes us want to completely change our wardrobe and stock tuns of shararas, garara, and long kurtas.

Initially, in the movie, we see pastel shades, and later towards the end of movie the color tone becomes deeper. The costume designer of the movie is Manish Malhotra.

Clothes of almost all main characters are seen with antique borders including crochet thread and resham thread. Men are seen in muted and understated color palette. If you need to take your creativity game up with fabrics like cotton, mulmul, and net this movie is a perfect inspiration.

 

8. The Devil Wears Prada

If you are looking for a fun movie and something that tells you so much about the fashion world, this is the one for you. Devil wears a Prada very perfectly shows what goes behind putting one catalog or launching one clothing collection we see on paper or the internet. 

If are you just starting in the fashion industry and want to know what it takes to be just the perfect fit, I would say watch this movie and relate to the main protagonist(Anne Hathway). It’s quirky, inspiring, and motivating. No doubt it will make you want to take your fashion game one step up. 

 

9. Coco before Chanel

We all know about the luxurious brand Coco Chanel. But have you ever wondered why is it Coco Chanel why not just Chanel? The answer to this question is what this movie gives.

Who is coco? Who was she before Chanel? This biographical drama film narrates the story of the early life of Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, the founder of the famous brand we know as Chanel. Gabrielle Chanel started by making hats for survival, this movie might be the perfect motivation for you if you want to have your startup in fashion.

 

10. Umrao Jaan

Umrao Jaan is and will always be the one period film that gave major fashion trends. Subhashini Ali is the costume designer of this movie and a trendsetter. Mainly the dressing of Awadhi Royalty is shown in this movie.

This movie will definitely be a good inspiration for you if you are planning on changing your style to anarkalis and ghagras. All kinds of delicate details have been paid attention throughout the movie. For example, how the dupattas in the movie covered the head of Umrao Jaan at the same time were sheer enough.

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If this blog helped channel your inner creativity and made you want to change your wardrobe aesthetic, Let us know in the comment section down below. We are here to help you out with our wide range of handcrafted, rich collections of various fabrics.