Design and development of fashion accessories inspired from the hand woven shawls of Nagaland

Abstract

The Nagas, inhabitants of Nagaland, are said to belong to the Indo-Mongoloid stock. Unlike other parts of India, where much of the spinning and weaving, is in the hands of men, in Nagaland it is exclusively the monopoly of women. They mainly weave shawls and mekhalas which range from a simple white cloth to elaborately designed ones. These textiles are mainly produced only for their own consumption and available in the local markets. These textile products require more visibility, which can be achieved through contemporary product design and value addition through design development which can lead to better and wider market acceptability and network. Therefore, the present study was undertaken with the major objective of documenting the history, origin, weaving techniques, motifs and significance of the hand woven shawls of the three tribes of the state, i.e. Ao, Chakhesang and Lotha and then designing fashion accessories inspired from the hand woven textiles and ornaments of Nagaland. Inspired from these textiles fashion accessories, i.e. bags, belts and neckwear were designed and constructed and its market acceptability was studied. The study revealed that the products were highly appealing in the market and there was lot of scope to develop such products. The respondents and shopkeepers also acknowledged that the attempt was very innovative and creative to make people aware of the textiles of Nagaland and the study helped uplift, preserve and popularize the hand woven textiles of the state by product diversification.

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