What We're Made Of
From creative techniques born many lifetimes ago to the green movement's cutting edge, these materials are Alissi's bedrock.
Hand Block Print
Each block is a standalone artwork, a seasoned slab of sturdy wood carved with hand-drawn motifs calling out specific regions of India. Blocks are passed down in families and trusted only to the eyes and hands of masters.
Alissi’s striking prints hail from the city of Bagru, where dyes can demand months of curing to achieve their brilliant and deeply saturated colors. Natural pigments come from indigo bush, pomegranate skin, mango bark – even a slurry of raw brown sugar and rusted metal.
Printing involves an artisan giving the dye-soaked blocks precise, hard whacks on fabrics that are finished in bright sunshine. The beauty is in the absence of technical perfection.
Ikat
Ikat has an unmistakable blurred quality, because patterns emerge from an ingenious method of resist-dyeing raw yarn. Designs are sketched and then painstakingly mapped on sections of yarn by tightly wrapping them before a series of dye baths.
As the yarn moves and melds on the loom, ikat’s “feathered” shapes appear in the fabric. Strategic irregularity.
Across our collection, ikat can feel feminine and masculine, floral and tribal, freeform and exact. It’s easy to see why it was considered valuable currency on the storied Silk Road.
Khadi
Hand spun and woven for millennia, khadi became a movement under Mahatma Gandhi. The legendary political and spiritual leader saw the rugged, comfortable, versatile fabric as a tool of independence and revitalization in an India crushed by colonialism.
Gandhi talked about the “khadi spirit,” which exalted simplicity, patience and care for all fellow creatures. India’s national fabric still holds these ideals, even as it has become a desirable textile around the world.
Production requires very little water and no electricity, machinery or fuel, meaning khadi has zero carbon footprint.
Upcycled Sari
India’s best-known garment is an unstitched 6-meter swath of eye-popping material. The traditional “strip of cloth” remains popular today, with 30 regional varieties and more than 100 draping techniques. But a substantial fashion offshoot has grown from the huge supply of saris in need of new life.
Many lifestyle and fashion brands have jumped to reuse the vibrant silks, cottons and linens, for the sustainability factor as well as the bold aesthetic and cultural/personal provenance.
Every Alissi product is packaged in a colorful embroidered bag made from an upcycled sari.
Peace Silk
Silk is renewable and biodegradable, and producing it takes less water and energy than many other types of textile fiber. But the vast majority comes from the cocoons of silk worms that are boiled or gassed alive to avoid damaging the material.
Peace silk is an answer to such cruelty. The worms are allowed to reach maturity and break out as moths before the harvest. The production time is longer and the remaining filaments of silk are shorter, but the added cost is worth a more humane process.
No certification body exists to guarantee the standards under which these insects live and contribute to commercial enterprise, but we trust Saheli Women’s sourcing from only small producers who align with our shared values.
Organic Cotton
Cotton accounts for almost half of all fibers used in the textile industry, and most production has harsh environmental and social side effects. Moves toward greater sustainability – especially concerning water – are ongoing, but organic cotton offers improvements that matter now.
It is grown without pesticides, meaning unprotected farm workers aren't exposed to hazards like formaldehyde, ammonia, heavy metals and flame retardants. These chemicals are detected in finished clothing, so organic cotton is healthier for consumers too. The seeds are also cheaper than the GMO alternative, helping Indian farmers avoid a potentially devastating cycle of debt.
Any cotton item from Alissi is certified GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard), which covers processing, manufacturing, packaging, labelling and distribution.
Dead Stock
Delicate mulberry silks in ice blue and sea green. Turmeric-hued khadi with fine geometric embroidery. Abstract block prints on black cotton-silk and richly rendered banana leaves on sheer white. These scraps from the studio floor are now exclusive Alissi pieces.
Transforming dead stock into product can be a win-win, despite the controversy surrounding how truly sustainable it is given the industry’s mechanics and lack of transparency. It works for Alissi because we are partnered with the incredible Saheli Women, which sources only upcycled or GOTS-certified fabric from small, ethically producing manufacturers in India.
Even in the creation of dead stock pieces for partner brands, Saheli Women sends any extra fabric home with its artisans to use for their families.