Art of Warli

Hi everyone,

Its been a long break, but I have been in search of various cultural arts that can be showcased in different ways within the fashion industry- be it in garments or accessories.

Today, I wanted to bring to you the art of Warli painting which has been in India for over 1200 years (some people believe its been around since 2500 BC). Warli painting is the tradition of the Warlis who are tribal folk from Maharashtra (India). Traditionally, the women of this tribal group would make delicate geometric drawings, based on their everyday lives, on the walls of their mud huts. Powdered rice would be used as the coloring agent and thin reed like sticks were used as pens. In recent times it is the men who practice this art form. Currently, the paintings are mainly drawn in white on paper smeared with cow-dung paste.The geometric patterns and detailing is very unique and has evolved to be more intrinsic and labor intensive. The Warlis have also expanded their art onto cloth, from wall hangings to beautiful sarees and scarves.

In the fashion world one can visualize these beautiful graphics as replicated prints or even original paintings on cloth (which is very time consuming and logistically difficult). The hope is to keep this art alive by proliferating it into the western world.

Attached are some photos of Warli art that I picked up at an artisan exhibition held in Mumbai. The pictures include both cloth and paper examples of the art.