The new era of eri silk

Hyderabad-based ethical fashion and eri silk designer Jyoti Reddy unveiled an exclusive, curated ‘ereena’ - eri silk fashion line at a preview held at her first standalone flagship store in Hyderabad recently.

The preview marks the designer's association with Ahimsa silk that began 15 years ago in Assam. Jyoti says, “I always wanted to do something different, so I started with a shoe shop in my mother’s garage and my sister used to help me.

Then we got into garments. After some time, I thought this is not what I wanted to do. I started an export company where I used to export textiles and embroidered pillows and bedding. In the course of these exports I used to travel abroad for trade shows and chat with a lot of people about textiles and that’s how I got into textiles. Then I found ‘eri’ and I found that this fibric is natural. Eventually we started making pounds of yarn and then started making fabrics with the yarn and slowly made stoles and shawls for the international market.”

The whole brand is based on the unique yarn that it uses as its base for all the products and the combinations of it. Commenting on the natural setting of her store, she shares, “Arena is the extension of ‘eri’. Arena means beautiful and green, so we thought that this is the best way to showcase it amidst greenery. After five years of experimenting and people started using it I realised that people should know more about it, so I decided to put a store with a board. I am happy to launch it.”

Jyoti’s collection revealed some of the quintessential Indian Ikat (chitiki (dot)) weaving craftsmanship in ‘eri’ silk in various textures that celebrated traditional Indian design. “’Ereena’ the store, uniquely combines breathability, the cool softness of cotton, the textured look of linen, inherent warmth of wool, a subtle lustre of silk, and an incredible drape to allow an unmatched wearing experience to the discerning, varied color palette for global fashionistas,” says fashion designer Jyoti.

At the age of 58 Jyoti wants to continue her experiments. She says, “I think the weavers from Telangana are very intelligent and smart. A lot of them are skilled. We do not have a choice we should go by what they are willing to do by motivating them. If I go into their path I will be able to create more. Each time I am weaving with eri and I am finding new properties.”