Writing about the multiple fashion systems located across the world, M. Angela Jansen and Jennifer Craik argue that these need to be understood in context, and that local fashion is equally as important as global trends. To achieve this, we must move beyond binary oppositions (traditional/fashionable; tradition/modernity; local/global; West/rest) and stereotypes and acknowledge that notions of ‘tradition’ and ‘heritage’ are neither static nor fixed. Non-Western fashions can then become ‘powerful tools for an ongoing negotiation of continuity and change of tradition and modernity of local developments and global influences’ (Jansen & Craik 2016: 3-4). While dress refers to ‘tangible objects,’ fashion is ‘intangible and provides added value to dress that only exists in people’s imaginaries and beliefs’ (Kawamura, 2005: 2-4). At a time of environmental crisis, we urgently need to rethink our understanding of and relationship with fashion. Engaging with the skills, knowledge, and culture of artisan-designers in place is one way of doing this.
This paper will explore these issues through Lokesh Ghai’s current project ‘Revitalising the Choga’ (funded by the Karun Thakar Foundation and the V&A). The choga, a traditional over-garment worn by men and women in Himachal-Pradesh, is hand-crafted by specialist tailors using local materials. Few makers are still practicing and this distinctive garment, while of great significance for the semi-nomadic Gaddi shepherd’s community, is on the brink of disappearing. Ghai works with local artisans to learn and document how the choga is made. He also aims to co-create new chogas with them for wider markets, examining how the community’s agency in the garment’s adaptation and use can be maintained. The project considers the wider lessons we can learn from the choga as a component of a system of circular making that is embedded in a local village.
