Red-Crowned Crane Sits on Kalamkari Fabric with Mystical Strut

The new Kalamakri range introduced by Hyderabad based designer Archana Jaju is inspired from Japanese cranes, which is one of  recurrent motifs in Kalamkari art.

The last year has been an year of contemplation and revival for many designers and entrepreneurs, many independent women designers are dropping the conventional designs and incorporating the regional crafts in both formal and ready to wear dress.

Archana drew inspiration from her visits to a few national parks on family vacations when she spotted the beautiful red-crowned cranes, also called Japanese cranes in India which were believed to be at the verge extinction  in the early 20th century in Japan.Their striking features and spell binding appearance inspire her to create the design on the pieces by blending the shades of black, white and red as charming as they appear on the bird itself.

According to, the new range apparel include  Saris, kurtas, midi dresses and tops in relaxed silhouettes in Chanderi and organza, suffused in natural dyes of earthy pastel hues get embellished with thread, sequins and mirror work and portray these cranes as ballerinas.To bring about the exquisite range of apparel Archna approched Kalamkari artists from Srikalahasti region near Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, she has been working with as much as 200 artisan families in 17 clusters.The embroidery was accomplished by craftspeople at her Hyderabad workshop.

The cranes are one of the most recurring and alluring motif in Kalamkari  traditional designs that borrow from the epics as well as the time-tested Tree of Life.  Her collection infuse the  traditional kalamkari patterns with a contemporary touch: The nature inspires designs and the silhouettes  make the clothing  appealing to younger generations.