''The harmony of clouds dancing in the pond or the story of the pattern that took over the world''
I bet we all can reckon a time we were walking down the market or mall and caught ourselves glancing at a rhombic tracery that looks timeless and takes one’s breath away.
The variety of warm-received patterns blows our imagination, from as light as feather silk that feels so soft to rub to crispy textured cotton that is carefully woven and worn on special occasions. Today, many people can recognise Ikat when they see one, but do we really know where the textile hanging in our wardrobes comes from?
Let’s start with exploring what kind of material and pattern is called ‘Ikat.’
The word, which is now used internationally, originally comes from the Indonesian language and means “binding”, referring to the unique way of dying the threads, where craftsmen tightly bind yarns to make it dye-resistant and dip it into a dye bath, making unbound yarns to absorb all the colour.
The process allows the creation of multicoloured fabric with complex patterns even before the weaving starts. This is a complicated technique, and due to the nature of making, the width of the fabric is rarely over 80 cm, so handmade Ikat is difficult and pricey.
This technique exists in many cultures worldwide, but in this article, we will explore Central Asian textiles, which have become public favourites beyond the Uzbek border and attract the attention of designers all over the world.
Although the world refers to the pattern as “Ikat”, it is rarely called so in Uzbekistan, where most people know it under the name “khan atlas”. The direct translation of the name is Royal Silk, which has deep rainbow colours, geometrical patterns, and durable taut fabrics as distinguishing features.
The name comes from a legend that tells us that once upon a time, a ruler of the city of Margilan (currently the centre of textile production in Uzbekistan) wanted to marry for the fifth time and chose a poor weaver’s daughter as his future wife. What can be better than becoming a part of the ruler’s family? However, the weaver was strongly against this betrothal since the great ruler was closer in age to him than to his daughter. Poor father pledged to show mercy to his daughter, and the ruler agreed to change his mind if only by the upcoming morning, the weaver presented him with something so beautiful and captivating it would make the ruler forget about the girl.
Devastated and heartbroken, the poor weaver sat by the river on the wet after-rain ground and shed tears, mourning the happiness of his only daughter. Then suddenly, he saw the reflection of clouds on the water's surface painted in rainbow colours, and it dawned on him.
He ran home and got to work, fearing to lose precious seconds.
The morning after, he presented the ruler with an extraordinary fabric he’d woven, resembling what had been shown to him by nature. The iridescent beauty of the fabric was beyond comparison – weightless like a cloud and cool like morning air. In awe of beholding something so precious, the ruler forgot about his intention to marry the girl. The girl instead married the ruler’s son and heir – the love match, and the fabric was called the royal silk to honour the ruler of Margilan.
Royal silk quickly became an irreplaceable attribute of Central Asian fashion. However, weavers had to adapt their techniques and improvise to preserve people’s love for khan-atlas. The revolutionary invention was to mix cotton and silk in order to produce something wholly new yet oddly familiar.
The reasoning behind the decision to add cotton threads into silk is to make textiles more affordable since silk has always been a luxurious resource, considering how it is obtained. Yet, one curious aspect tells us that people have never been able to resist the desire to dress up. According to Islamic Law, men are not permitted to wear silk since luxury of all types is strictly prohibited in the religion that preaches a modest lifestyle where a heart belongs to God and leaves no place for excesses. It is even believed that when a person prays in silk-made clothes, his prayers do not reach God. However, cotton-made textiles were not as bright and smooth as silk ones, and enterprising people found a way to overcome the law by adding cotton threads to their ‘atlas’.
With that, their conscience stayed clean and the dress shiny, and that is how the world got the perfect combination of threads – adras, the textile that is softer than silk and dearer to God.
''Ikat and its importance today''
The fabric made its comeback and stole the hearts of consumers with its uniqueness and appealing design. Ikat can be worn independently or integrated into modern apparel, making it a swirl of styles and adding colour to everyday clothing. A great number of famous designers use Ikat in their collections, including Oscar de la Renta and Filanda n.18
Uzbek designers also keep up with current trends and try to revive the pattern's popularity by creating casual clothing with subtle elements to praise national heritage.
The leaders among Uzbek designers include Lali, Dildora Kasimova and Azukar Moreno.
Interestingly enough, the process of weaving has stayed the same throughout time and was not optimised to make the work easier or faster because the craftsmen believe that only hard labour combined with love and determination can create something so unique and beautiful. Although large fabrics produce the fabric as a part of a mass-production initiative, the real Ikat is still handmade in Margilan, in small workshops, where weavers choose quality over quantity and stay proud of their decisions. Fashion lovers and enthusiasts from all over the world travel to this destination to purchase the fabrics and witness the process themselves, holding their breath, scared to disturb the masters.
In 2018, Khan-atlas was included by UNESCO in the Register of Best Practices for the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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