Kalamkari Maxi Dress - Aqua

A-line & airy maxi dress with a centre-front placket. Wear loose or add shape with our Obi leather belt (available in 2 color blocks). Each piece is unqiue - shade and pattern differ slightly depending on the artisan and weather conditions.

• A-line silhouette designed for a relaxed fit around chest, armholes and lower body.Size down for a more fitted chest/arms. 
  
• Scooped neckline with fagoting at center front placket and hand beaten brass buttons 
  
• Mid calf length 
  
• Side seam pockets 
  
• Crafted from a beautiful silk-cotton blend that is both soft and has a very pleasing drape 
  

Kalamkari is crafted exclusively from natural dyes, mordants and resists - it’s a living cloth that should be treated with care and may shift shades over time. These natural dyes are painted on the cloth by hand by a women’s cooperative, in an extremely laborious process that blends art with nature’s chemistry. 

Size Details 

S/M
Length 48”
Chest 42” round
Cross-back 13.5”
Armhole 18” round

M/L 
Length 50"
Chest 44” round
Cross-shoulder 14.5"
Armhole 21” round
+/- a tolerance inherent to hand made clothing

Textile Story

Kalam (meaning pen) kari (meaning craftsmanship) is an art form developed in Andhra Pradesh around the 13th century. Originally used to create religious paintings on cloth to aid the acts of wandering minstrels, later used in Hindu temples, it then flourished as an art-form under the Golconda Sultanate, the Moghuls & later under the British where it became known as chintz.

We’re enormously proud to partner with Dwaraka, a not-for-profit that trains & supports women artisans in Srikalahasthi to create the most beautiful kalamkari art work; using a kalam pen & exclusively natural mordants, dyes & resists, the artisan hand draws every every line across the surface of the cloth.

Any variations or irregularities are to be celebrated. They are part of the design & inherent to the handcrafted production process, making this item beautifully unique.