Our signature dress, but make it patchwork. We've made a very small run of one of a kind zero waste dresses inspired by the work of our manufacturing partners at Kumbaya in Madhya Pradesh.
The perfect frock to take you through the seasons. Designed with a bit of structure and elegance around the shoulder. Roomy through the bicep, bust and upper back for movement, and of course - it has pockets. The handwoven fabric has a crisp, weighted hand with a beautiful structured drape.
Our smock dress is equally at home paired with sandals and a straw hat for a summer stroll, barefoot on the beach, or boots and a cardigan for a classic cooler weather look. Excellent layering piece.
The fabric has been yarn dyed by our natural dye partners, and then woven, using madder and cutch dyes. We've added a contrast patchwork hem, using offcuts and leftover fabrics from our first collection, making this dress an example of zero waste manufacturing. We've incorporated our bold red handloom fabric inspired by the regal Gulmohar trees with their clusters of blooms in vermillion and red, and our seed pod brown fabric, which was inspired by the earthy sheen of Gulmohar tree seed pods, on a backdrop of our beloved faded red cross weave fabric, also dyed with madder root.
Seen with Kumbaya's Zero Waste Patchwork Bedcover in black and white.
*All of our products are limited edition, and are custom dyed, woven and stitched by hand in micro batches. This dress cannot be reproduced, so once they're gone, they're gone.
STORY
Where it all began: our first design, the bodice is inspired by day dresses worn by women during the hot summer months in India. The first prototype for this dress was designed and hand stitched at our home in the Fall of 2018. It then passed through two pattern makers before the finalizes pattern made its way to India in 2021 in Madhya Pradesh, where it was stitched into our first sample. Further minor adjustments were made to perfect the fit when we visited our manufacturing partners in March 2022.
This dress was designed to merge comfort with elegance, and to feature the beautiful custom made fabrics we incorporate into our designs. Tailored around the shoulders, with a beautiful drape over the bust, and a refined neckline that provides the flexibility to dress it up.
Patchwork Edition: Kumbaya has been working for more than 30 years in rural Madhya Pradesh with women and adults with special needs. They began with just a few sewing machines, and used fabric scraps to create their first patchwork textiles in a region of India that is mainly known for agriculture. Zero waste production through patchwork remains a core value at Kumbaya, and is one of the reasons we chose to partner with them. We were inspired by a blue patchwork Kumbaya tunic, so we decided to design a dress using the same technique.
FEATURES
Fibre: 100% cotton.
Natural Dye: Yarn dyed with Madder (Rubia Cordifolia) and Cutch (cathechu) in Maharashtra, India.
Fabric: Ambar Charkha spun and handwoven in West Bengal, India.
Details: French seams, contrast patchwork detailing, tear drop button closure at back neck, inseam pockets. Hand carved buffalo horn buttons. Pre-shrunk.
*the fabric has variegated striping throughout from the yarn dye process.
Hand sewn by our partners in Madhya Pradesh, India - Kumbaya is a zero-waste manufacturing initiative that provides meaningful employment to women and people with disabilities in one of the most remote, backward and poor regions of India.
Designed in Germany.
MEASUREMENTS
Sabeth is 5'5" (165 cm) and is wearing size 36/38
Seatile is 5'3" (160 cm) tall - bust: 108 cm, waist: 95 cm, hip: 121 cm and is wearing size 44/46
Size Chart
CARE
Wash by hand or machine wash gentle cycle in cool water using a pH neutral detergent. Dry in shade. For detailed information, visit our
care page
All of our garments come in a protective muslin bag, stitched by the women of Kruti, in the village of Mulshi, Maharashtra. Kruti, a stitching unit run by Anubhuti Social Foundation, provides employment opportunities to women in rural communities, by implementing training programs in tailoring.
Meet the Weavers
Meet the Dyers
*Colours will appear differently with varied lighting and screens.
