Hello folks! Let me introduce you to Sayuri’s latest jewellery collection FW2019-20 “Banjaran Dreams.” It is happy, bright, youthful, sustainable collection that is inspired by ingenuity of the Banjara people in creating beauty out of almost nothing. If dreams could be fleshed out in fibre, yarn and fabric, in my opinion this is how they would be.
Banjara Tribes
The word Banjaran means”Of or belonging to the Banjara tribes.” Banjaras are nomadic gypsies settled in various parts of India such as Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Those living in Southern India are also referred to as Lambadis or Lambanis. The word Banajara itself is said to originate from the words “Vann Chaara” meaning forest wanderers. There is another lore about the Banjaras’ kinship relations with the merchant castes like Banis, Banij. These words are said to originate from the Persian word “Berinji Arind” meaning rice sellers. The Banjaras are known for their hand embroidery skills and the colourful layered garments that the women wear. The embroidery is colourful (originally done using recycled yarn from old fabrics), incorporates mirrors and charms such as coins, pompoms and cowrie shells.
How the collection came to be
I have often written in this blog about how I consider myself to be a gypsy. Not in a literal sense per se, but in my wandering mind and communal spirit I am a gypsy. I have often been called a bead stringing gypsy to my utter delight. Banjaran Dreams collection has been brewing in my mind for over two years. You would have seen snippets of it in Patinam as well. But as they say, there is a time for everything. The time to work with colours and textiles is now.
When I was thinking about how to extend the sustainability factor that I worked on with Riti jewellery, I could only think of fabric scraps. Promostyl in their AW 20-21 forecast famously refers to it as “Rags.” They talk about promoting creative mixes, artsy-kitsch influences and counter-culture references all of which were on my mind when I made this collection. Am I a year too early? Only time will tell.However, it does go well with the Banjaran philosophy of reuse.
Banjaran Dreams – Sayuri FW19/20
However, unlike the forecast my Banjaran Dreams collection is brightly colored and highly textural. It was created keeping in mind the exuberance of the Indian Festive season. There are patterns such as stripes, dots, lines, bootis, along with solids. Many of these fabrics are end bits, which I use to promote a circular economy. The embroidery is handmade by the Lambadi community in Andhra Pradesh. Finally, the layers are handsewn and backed with felt for stability by me. Without further ado, here is a reveal of a few pieces – all in Pink.
Of tropical Prints and Coins
This necklace is inspired by concept of Vann chaara or wandering in the forest. I was intrigued by the idea of gypsies with their possessions as wearable jewellery passing by lush forests. The necklace is created with paper, fabric, coins, beads and wire. The back is a perfect fabric fold finish. Earrings with beads and coins come along with the necklace. The drawstring closure is made of pink cotton cords.
Of Pink elephants and pompoms
Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess of wealth is associated with the colour pink. She is seen surrounded by elephants offering ablations – an imagery also associated with wealth and prosperity. Combining the two together, is this pink fabric pendant with orange and gold focal and pink and orange pompoms. The back side is finished with pink felt backing. It has a cotton dori – draw string closure with with a beads in red, orange and pink connectors. Earrings will be of orange and red beads.
Reflections of a gypsy
The Traditional Banjara skirt-blouse are embellished with mirror work embroidery. It locates the belief of the people in myth and magic. It also points to the self reflection of the people who have hard lives. The patch is hand made by a Banjara woman and has a certain rawness to it Since, this necklace is one of my absolute favourites from this collection, here is a closer look at the pendant. I loved sewing on the button, cowrie shell, tape and beads turning it from a patch to a pendant.
This is a soft cord necklace which will take the shape of your neck as you wear it. The Pendant is backed with felt.
All the pieces in this post are sold 🙂 Please check the full collection for sale on the shop page.
Jewellery Care – As with most fabric and fibre jewellery, these pieces are not water/sweat resistant. They need air drying after every wear. The cord closure can be cleaned wit ha damp cloth or washed with a little water if required. Avoid spraying on perfume or deodorant on/around the pieces. Please wear them last, after you have worn your clothes, makeup, and perfume.
Other posts in this series are
Pendant and earring sets
Cowrie Shell Jewellery
Foliage fabric jewellery
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