What do you get when you mix a modern aesthetic with an ancient technique? A super fun jumpsuit!
The Mud-Resist technique, aka Dabu print, used in developing our Indigo Jumpsuits is an elegant—albeit messy—technique. It makes use of one of nature’s messiest ingredients—you guessed it—mud! Actually the Mud-Resist technique is made with a paste. It consists of black mud, usually from nearby ponds, bidhan aka wheat powder, arabic gum to improve adhesion, and lime water to prevent cracking.
In order to create the natural striped effect we achieve with the Indigo Jumpsuit, we create individual mud stripes along the fabric that we want to retain the original fabric color. Indigo dye is then applied to the fabric, permeating all areas of the fabric not coated with the mud.
When the dye has set, the fabric is taken and washed, dispelling all of the mud and leaving beautifully clear tracks where they were set. The process is so messy that our craftspeople in India don't perform the technique on side. They send it two hundred kilometers away from their facility in Bagru, where they are well equipped for it.
Even once the process is finished, a lot of the fabric isn’t usable for the jumpers, and so we must find other uses for them. The ones that turn out suitable for the jumpers however give us a unique and elegant texture that complements the soft form of the jumper.
Ultimately this technique takes a bit of experience to pull off, but the result is wonderful—and to think it’s almost all thanks to mud!