Pastel Silk Itajime Dune Robe

Airy Pastel Silk Itajime Dune Robe for women, is fashioned in luxurious silk with a sculptural silhouette that falls in soft folds around the body. The pale blue, ivory and muted taupe palette gives the robe a calm, contemporary character. The traditional Itajime clamp-dye technique has resulted in a pattern that is distinctive to each piece. The smooth, fluid finish makes this silk kimono for women an effortless choice over understated daywear or relaxed evening looks. Rather than following a conventional tailored shape, its generous drape allows the textile to create the silhouette, offering a versatile statement layer with an artisanal sensibility that sits beautifully alongside organic women's clothing.

Story Behind the Design

The Itajime Silk Collection has been hand-crafted in the workshop of two of India's foremost Master Craftsmen; Jabbar and brother Abdullah Khatri from Bhuj, Gujarat.

Shibori is a 1300 year old tie and dye technique developed in Japan involving the folding and clamping or otherwise securing of fabric prior to dyeing. Itajime is one technique of shibori which uses pieces of wood clamped together around sections of folded fabric to resist the dye in particular shapes. Each 3m section of fabric is individually folded, clamped, tied and dyed; and this repeated several times to get layers of colours. It's a time consuming and exacting technique with bold geometric results.

In Bhuj, clamp dye techniques came into practice around 35 years ago. During that time, clamp dyeing techniques were used on traditional lungis (sarongs) to produce various designs. This was a short-lived trend, however and the technique went out of use after some 5 years. The Khatri brothers re-introduced the process in Bhuj and now create some of the finest itajime, clamp-dyed textiles in India.

Any variations or irregularities are part of the design and inherent to the production process.