This week, I visited Tanaporen boutique in Dhaka, Bangladesh, selling sustainable Jamdani. The saleswomen I interviewed walked me through what is available in their shop, showcasing the incredible craftsmanship of the Jamdani sarees. The salesperson was unravelling the finer quality cotton sarees and seamlessly reciting the thread count and the exact time taken to produce the sample by the weavers, who include women weavers of Sheva's Sustainable Jamdani, organized by Sayeeda Khan, which aims to advance the Jamdani weaving industry and sell it at a fair price in boutiques such as Tanaporen. The higher the thread count, the softer the garment was and closer to the age-old Jamdani muslins that were being produced by hand over a century ago.
I am a senior at Barnard College of Columbia University studying Art History. My research interests include South Asian Art, Eighteenth and Nineteenth-Century European Art, and Clothing.
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