Vintage revival

There's an air of dapper regality about Umang Hutheesing. Look at his publicity shots, which have him dressed like some potentate of the Raj era — all gold ornaments and rich velvet, thickly embroidered with zari. And why not? Hutheesing is the scion of a family of Jain merchants, who trace their history back at least three centuries and were rich enough to have lent money to rulers down from the Mughals to the British. One outcome of this is a collection of textiles and garments, dating back to the early 19th century, now housed in the family home inside the walled city of Ahmedabad.

Many of the ornate looking garments that Umang Hutheesing is photographed wearing are replicas of originals in his family collection. But that's not where Hutheesing's revivalist programme ends. Since 2010, when he presented a selection of these garments at the Yves Saint Laurent Foundation in Paris and wowed audiences with the rich splendour of royal Indian costumes, Hutheesing has emerged as a champion of heritage fashion, especially painstaking embroidery techniques such as aari, marodi and zardozi.

In a bid to encourage the few remaining craftsmen who practise these, Hutheesing has been designing a range, called the Darbar Collection, which includes achkans, chogas, shervanis, aabhas bodices, shawls, anarkalis, capes and saris in heavy silk, velvet, satin, chiffon and kimkhab brocade.

Look at the textiles, attire, decor, jewellery and other arts in our museums and it is clear that it was the fabulously wealthy like the Hutheesings who dictated taste. Much of those styles and artefacts have been lost, as lifestyles have become less formal and purses lighter, but there are efforts being made in some pockets to revive the traditional aesthetic. Hutheesing is one, but there are others too, like Sally Holkar of Indore (the Maheshwari weave) and the Maharanis of Baroda (Chanderi) who deserve mention.

In the area of jewellery, especially, this revival is most evident. Much of the jewellery still worn at weddings reflects an aesthetic that goes back to many centuries and to the rich hordes of gold and gems in the possession of our kings and queens. "Royal jewellery, whether it is polki diamonds or Meenakari enameling, continues to be in fashion today. Many of the techniques we use are similar to those practised by kaarigars going back to the Mughal-Rajput era. In fact, Jaipur continues to be an important centre for such craftsmanship, and we derive many of our designs from traditional motifs," says Rajiv Arora of Jaipur's Amrapali Jewels.

It's not just in India; even the French marquee jeweller Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels have, in several of their recent collections, fallen back for inspiration on the jewels they designed for Indian royalty way back in the Raj era. Van Cleef & Arpels' Makara Ring from its 2011 Bal de Legende collection is very obviously India-inspired — the oversized yellow sapphire that crowns this ornate ring set in an elephant head, encrusted with diamonds, pink sapphires and peridots.

Elsewhere, palace ateliers in Jaipur, Mehrangarh and a few other places have been proactive in digging out traditional designs and creating replicas, or adaptations suited to contemporary tastes. Often, these artefacts showcase crafts traditionally practised in the region, and once patronised by the ruler. Such a project serves not just to revive a once rich heritage, but also boosts the local economy.