Tipology: Product design, chart
Client: IOU, www.iouproject.com

Hand crafted chart for the IOU collection re-appropriating objects and situations from everyday life. IOU is a clothing brand that brings together people who celebrate Uniqueness, Artisanship and Design. Each product is Unique and Handmade in Europe using fabrics Handwoven in India, the Lungi, a traditional Tamil Nadu two meters long fabric.









Text by Kavita Parmar
Many have travelled far and wide in search of words to define themselves, to try to find their inner selves, to connect with the universe. We found our epiphany on a man walking with an elephant. Wrapped around his bare legs was a 2 meter long hand-woven cloth that fascinated us. The locals called it lungi Age old, handmade, humble, simple yet beautiful. Each one was different, unique. ¨To each man his own¨ they said.







Process of prototyping, details and packing.

THE LUNGI FABRIC
Drawing by Laura Gonzalez Soto
Text by Kavita Parmar

Lungi is a traditional Tamil Nadu 2 meters long fabric from South India.



This project was born out of my need for coherence in this ever-changing world of fashion. Address things that were close to my heart, sustainability in our work, giving back to communities that made our designs possible and encouraging artisans to continue their age-old crafts that define us as humans. Wanting to use something that already existed, I wanted to work with the artisan not demanding what I designed but what he had already created. That is when I came across the Lungi.

The genius of this garment is in its simplicity. Rectangles that wrap the body in a variety of ways, lungis defy changes in size and body shape. This simplicity gives rise to a spectacular variety in textile design, inviting infinite elaboration of color and pattern, invented by the weavers using whatever threads they have available. It is endlessly adaptable and often reused once it is too threadbare to be worn as a lungi any longer. Across India, old lungis find new lives as pillows, pouches, ropes, lightweight blankets, hammocks for babies and more.

The idea of accepting what they made and using that acceptance as our design philosophy of this new product line excited me. That no two pieces would be the same as each lungi was only 2 meters long was the first challenge we faced, which turned into the most beautiful gift. Once we learned to accept the differences, we celebrated the uniqueness of each piece. Whenever we came across a knot in the fabric that we had been trained to see as an imperfection, now we saw it differently. Remembering how the artisan had stopped right there to knot the next spool of thread with his hands, we have come to cherish these knots that make this piece so human.

We source our lungis from artisans of the Tamil Nadu Hand Loom Weavers Cooperative Society. It was established in 1935 in South India to encourage the local hand-loom weavers so that they don’t loose their art and their way of making a living in competition with the industrialized looms. Funded by the Indian Government, they have over 200,000 weavers working with them and have been pioneers in educating the cotton farmers about the benefits of returning to organic farming.

Once we had this incredibly unique product we needed a special place for it. That is when I contacted Ciszak-Dalmas a young studio whose work in the experience of design had touched a chord. It was easy to ignite their already fiery imagination and they immediately set about creating the first Lungi Carro. Of course as all related to this project we imagined it to be unique, making the most out of what we could find.

Now all we hope is that you find your unique piece of raasta lungi and it becomes a part of your journey. Happy travelling.

Visit Lungi Carro at Raasta The Seeds, Callejón de Jorge Juan 12, Madrid