Lakme Fashion Week: 3,000 Bhuttico wool weavers celebrate 75 years of their craft

From a cooperative society in Himachal Pradesh’s Kullu district, comes a weave that is over 75 years old. Our story starts in 1944 Bhutti, a village nearly 10kms into the Kullu valley, where 12 weavers began their journey. They used to get their wool from rearing their own sheep and wove traditional geometric patterns of Pattu on shawls and stoles. “We used to weave our own clothes as there was low accessibility to the outside world due to hill ranges,” says Satya Prakash Thakur, Chairman of the society. Over the years, Bhutti Weavers Cooperative Society became Bhuttico.

The designs from the interiors of India’s Northern state debuted on the Mumbai Lakmé Fashion Week ’19 runway on Sustainable Fashion Day. The wool weavers’ society, in collaboration with Woolmark and Delhi-based fashion label Péro, showcased the collection in monochrome colours of blues, khaki and off-white. The weavers used the extra weft technique where each thread is inlaid by hand to create patterns while weaving the fabric on the loom. A technique that designer Aneetha Arora calls, “intricate as hand embroidery”. Flash mob dancers and skater boys took the stage during the live ramp walk, while artists spray painted graffiti on the sets. 

The celebration on the ramp walk that even got the models dancing, was a showcase of ‘Grown in Australia, Made in India’. Bhuttico previously collaborated with Woolmark for two other fashion shows to showcase their designs.

The Australian fibre provided by Woolmark – Merino wool has up to 12 microns, and as per the testimony of the artisans, it is easier to work with. “We are with Woolmark since 2001. We receive expertise on wool quality and where to procure the wool from,” says Satya Prakash. In exchange for their designs, the artisans will get compensated based on the intricacy of patterns and the amount of work they’ve put into it,” the Chairman said in a post-show press conference. “We look after the welfare of the weavers and craftsmen,” he asserted.

The cooperative society has over 3,000 weavers from Himachal, as per the estimates of Satya Prakash’s daughter Shivani. However, the professional weaving members are only 450 because admission to the society is given only on merit and seniority of the weavers. “Once they understand the art of weaving on the handloom, only then are they given membership. The members of the society are the owners,” Satya Prakash explaining the sense of equality that lies with the board of directors of the society to the employees. “Weaving as a profession in Kullu employs workers irrespective of caste”. Satya Prakash took over from late Ved Ram Thakur, the first president of the society, after his passing at 50 years of age. “My father put me on the handlooms when I was in the fourth standard. I learnt the ABC of weaving from him. And by the time I was in the eighth standard, I was a shawl weaving expert,” he recalls.

The artisans have fought hard to maintain authenticity of the artwork passed down to them through generations. They are known to have campaigned for their flagship product – the Kullvi shawl, to be patented with a GI (geographical identification) tag. After the Péro collaboration, they will soon test international waters, as the brand takes the fabric made with Merino wool to the global market.