Eri Peace Silk Artist Dress | natural dye sappanwood pink

Our Artist Dress is my personal favourite: worn once, you'll never want to wear anything else! Cut in a silhouette flattering to a range of shapes and sizes: the flat collar frames the face and the semi-fitted dolman sleeves add shape to the over-sized cut. Wear as a dress, or alternatively as a house-coat with the front open.

 

• Wide-cut body with relaxed silhouette & semi-fitted sleeves
• Closes down the center front with hand-beaten brass buttons
• Mid-calf length
• Side seam pockets
• Made exclusively from peace, or non-violent, silk - no silk worm is harmed in the making of this silk. Dyed using purely natural dyes.
• Hand spun & woven by a weaver’s cluster in Assam, in beautifully soft & slightly slubbed eri silk
• All orders come lovingly packed in upcycled silk bags

• SM
  • Length 46”
  • Chest 53” round
  • Sleeve length 9" & opening 12” round
• ML
  • Length 47”
  • Chest 56” round
  • Sleeve length 10" & opening 13” round
• LXL
  • Length 47”
  • Chest 56” round
  • Sleeve length 10" & opening 15” round

+/- a tolerance inherent to hand made clothing

• Fabric: 100% eri peace silk
• Handfeel: Super soft, mid weight with a gentle drape
• Care: Gentle & quick hand wash in mild detergent. Don't soak as some colours may run. Drip dry in the shade. Gentle steam iron. Natural colours may change over time. Darker colours may bleed at first. Store in the dark.
• Origin: Assam, India

 

 

Textile Story

 

Conventional silk is produced through boiling silk worms in their cocoons, killing some 6,000 worms to produce 1 kg (2 pounds) of silk. Peace silk, also known as non-violent silk, is a sustainable and ethical approach to silk production which does not involve harming or killing the silk worm. Though the silk worm is not killed during the production of the this natural dye eri silk, it is manually removed from the cocoon , dried and turned into a local culinary delicacy in the region where this fabric is woven in Assam. It constitutes a nutritious and important element of the local diet.

 

The production of eri silk is a cottage industry, which supports a wide and varied eco-system of women and men farmers, spinners, weavers and dyers. Our Peace Silk Collection brings together this diverse range of silks and artisans from India's northeastern rural villages. Cocoons are collected by silk farmers, then spun by hand, yarn-dyed using local, natural dyestuffs and hand woven - each step carried out by women. Our Ahimsa Collection includes domesticated matka mulberry and eri peace silk, wild tussar and balkal silks, as well as the waste silk generated by regular silk production, like raw silk.

 

Silk spun and woven in this way retains properties lost during conventional means of silk production. Peace silk is less lustrous than typical silk, but is incredibly soft and has a rich, slubbed texture and an incredible drape. It retains warmth in winter and breathes in the heat so is comfortable to wear year round. Any variations or irregularities are part of the design and inherent to the production process.