Threads explores the relationship between traditional weavers and fashion designers in India.
After decades of decline in a demand for legacy fabrics, collaborative relationships between designers and artisans (communicated and negotiated between social economic classes from different social positions) have led to fashion designers now recognizing the autonomy of artisan designers and the need to work with them. A highly regarded Indian designer reflects by saying, “artists [weavers] will not stop for my work, the craft is their lifestyle, if I change their lifestyle, it reflects in their work. Now I work according to them instead of according to me.”
In contemporary India, fashion houses strive for engagement with their weavers which is mutually beneficial for more than financial reasons, “we are going to create together, it’s what India wants.”
"Threads is a beautifully composed and thoughtful meditation on the stakes of collaboration among those from different social and professional backgrounds. The film suggests that designers can work sustainably and contribute to development by engaging with artisans' technical knowledge and social and aesthetic preferences." – Matthew Raj Webb, New York University, Anthropology of Work Review
"Through the visually stunning threads of India, Katherine Sender and Shuchi Kothari shed the light on the need of both past and present to create a solid textile industry for the future. By showing us how India is redefining its crafts and how crafts have revolutionized design, they provide possible solutions for makers losing their jobs, and for designers looking for inspiration.
If anything, Threads tells us that traditional textile makers must welcome the future, and contemporary designers must embrace the past, for both to preserve their livelihoods and lifestyles. In the process, thousands of families survive and we get to keep our roots in the face of faceless screens and social alienation." – Yasmine Dabbous, Kinship Stories/Espace Fann
Selected Screenings & Awards
Melbourne International Film Festival, Australia, 2022
Jaipur International Film Festival, India, 2022
New Delhi International Film Festival, India, 2022