Samantas is an indigenous luxury designer brand by Dr. Achyuta Samanta (founder of KIIT & KISS and also a member of parliament). With a vision to promote and help the local artisan of Odisha to reach the global level, under the guidance of Dr. Itirani Samanta, Ms. Aparnna Samanta (Director of Samantas) started Samantas in the year 2020
Samantas ideology is to protect, preserve and promote the dying art of Odisha’s handloom and its artisans. As Odisha is one of the richest states in terms of its various handloom and handicrafts which are found in the tribal belt of Odisha, the intricacy, authenticity, charm and sustainability of it inspired us to take the initiative to start a brand that focuses on offering luxury products to the world along with the betterment of artisans.
Samantas offer handcrafted apparel created by rural artisans from across Odisha. These artisans are gifted with the talent and traditional skills to craft exquisite designs in styles that are unique to their culture and heritage. Each garment is excursively designed and weaved in Odisha.
“We found the need to bridge a gap between the Odisha’s handloom and modern society by contemporizing the garment and making it timeless possession to have in your wardrobe’’ says Ms.Aparnna Samanta. ‘I was always passionate about our culture and tradition and my love for seasonless fashion inspired me to start this label which can give a fresh approach to how Odisha’s handloom are being designed and wore along with the amelioration of our artisans who are the backbone of Samantas.” she added.
How Odisha’s fabric is different?
Textile of Odisha is a reflection of its cultural ethos with intricate weaves giving it an identity of its own. The thread work, motifs, vibrant colours, eye for the detailed work make them rich and desirable.Every district in Odisha has its own unique handloom weave. Skilled weavers from different parts of the state exhibit native arts while weaving textile with special and unique technique which takes weeks and months to finish one particular garment with lot of intricacy. Also, Odisha has maximum GI tags in handloom.
Artisans of Odisha and their efforts
Handlooms are majorly weaved in rural and semi-rural areas of Odisha. The artisans are carrying their forefathers skills of weaving the fabrics and passing it to the next generation. Each thread is carefully spun into the whole fabric which takes years of practice, hard work, skills and understanding of the whole process. A single fabric can take months to make depending upon the intricacy of design.
Why people should buy from Samantas?
We at Samantas understand the efforts it takes to weave a single fabric. Contrariwise fast fashion can make clothes more affordable but it harms the environment to a great extent, the dyeing process, use of harmful fertilizers to increase the cotton production, overconsumption of garments and poor working conditions of workers, the list of negative impacts are never-ending.
Being one of the most polluting industry- Fashion, Samantas offer sustainable, ethical and classy products to its consumers.As a brand, Samantas Handloom constitutes women’s and men’s wear products. Our products use hand weaved fabrics, patchwork, pattachittra and embroidery,created as a vibrant expression of the rural way of life, their rituals and their legends. The need to focus more on quality than quantity led our creative process and products to be exclusive and durable.
Samantas effort to globalise Orissa Fabric
When a customer buys a product, they want some value out of it. We are not only focused on textile but also on the silhouettes. There is enormous talent in Odisha’s weavers and artisans which needs skills for market-oriented design development and exposure. We are contemporizing the age-old techniques of our handlooms with modern-day silhouettes to approach a vast number of people. We want our artisans and their weaved fabrics to gain recognization in the world for their skills and craftsmanship by amalgamating their handlooms with up to date patterns.
Samantas started during the pandemic by joining hands with the local artisans who are the backbone of our company, to create a unique and authentic range of Odisha’s handloom collection with the betterment of the artisans in this difficult time.
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