As focused as we are on innovative materials and techniques, we often forget the power and importance of time-honoured ones such as mud. Traditional mud houses are very popular in Kutch, a district of Gujarat, India.
Called "bhuga" or "boongas", these popular domestic dwellings, still used by the tribal people in the Kutch area, have a circular shape reminiscent of African round huts, and a roof supported by thick wooden posts. They are also particularly resistant to earthquakes and sandstorms as they were devised by local building craftsmen after the 1819 earthquake.
Mud is very versatile as it can be moulded when wet, but it also dries and becomes rigid, and can be mixed with other materials including cow dung or vegetable waste, straw, sand, and stones, and can be employed to make sun-dried mud bricks.
The outside walls of the huts are decorated with colourful paintings, while the internal walls integrate mirrors (to keep off the negative effects of the evil eye) and mud work done by the local women.
The main advantages of these structures is that they are built with local materials, they provide durability and they can easily be repaired if needed (in the last few years architect and designer Anna Heringer has been experimenting with mud with great results).
Mud huts may not have any direct connections with fashion, but Michelle Robinson and her design team at TSE moved from them for the brand's A/W 19 collection.
The mud houses from the Kutch region provided TSE with a series of different inspirations: the colour palette for this new collection revolved around matcha tea, earthy and natural tones combining clay, mud and sand shades, with some bright yellow (a symbol of luck in the region) and navy blue thrown in.
The texture of the cozy chunky cashmere knits and ribbed sweaters evoked the consistencies of the walls, while graphic motifs were inspired by the decorative geometric elements on the external walls of the huts.
Beaded trimmings decorated a few dresses, while there were direct references to the interior decor of the huts in a cashmere knit with delicate pointelle stitches and in the round mirrors incorporated in one sweater. The power of mirrors was also evoked in the pleated metallic skirts with pastel prints of flowers.
This is last part of TSE's Kutch installment: rather than finding inspirations for each season, TSE tend indeed to come up with one reference and explore it over a year through three collections.
The Kutch inspiration started with Pre-Fall when the team looked at the dressing traditions of the Rabari women and continued in Spring/Summer with garments inspired by the colours and constructions of men's clothing. As the design team at TSE never travelled to India this third collection is conceived not as a mere appropriation of its culture, but more as a personal exploration of India's crafts and heritage filtered through the team's minimalist aesthetic.
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