Rang Riwaaz

02/09/2026

A red bridal Banarasi — a garment that carried more than colour and weave; it held the quiet weight of beginnings, blessings, and the first memories of a marriage.

Dimmed by stains, discoloration and tarnish, its radiance rested beneath the wear of time.

We revived its colour through slow, deliberate dyeing; prepared fresh silk to echo its original glow; and transferred each motif with the same tenderness with which it was first woven.

Thread by thread, the saree rose back into itself — restored, re‑anchored, and ready to return to the lineage it was always meant to carry forward.

24/08/2026

When was the first time you heard this term??

Let us know in comments ✍️

Taar baana is the original hindi term for 'Tissue'
specifying the metallic nature of the weft, the 'baana'...while the warp, the 'taana', remains silk...

22/08/2026

19/08/2026

25 years of love, woven in colour.

This stunning handloom Kora silk saree — with its royal blue and sky blue borders flanking a vibrant magenta Sitara Boota body — was gifted by a husband to his wife on their 25th anniversary. Over time, the borders had torn apart… almost like life had pulled at the edges, but the love it symbolised only deepened.

We painstakingly recreated the borders, matching every thread, to restore this heirloom to its former glory. Because some gifts aren’t just fabric — they’re the sum of all the moments you’ve lived.

12/08/2026

While every restoration project is important for us we know the meaning a wedding saree holds....and we always try to understand how best can we revive it for you....but at times we too don't get to know....specially when the client was just not hopeful if the saree would get restored ever!

Here this beautiful brocade weave saree that arrived to us damaged in very peculiar patterns with no queries at all....we got a bit surprised and intrigued, as the saree was seemingly new so the scale of damage was unfamiliar and we could not understand the cause.

It was only in the end, when the restoration was completed our client shared that it is her wedding saree and it was damaged so for being kept in a wooden box and she was not at all hopeful as she has been trying to get it restored but everyone had said that it can't be restored....seeing the saree she was really happy we could feel the joy and hope in her messages....sharing with love!

07/08/2026

On National Handloom Day, we begin our series Weaves We Restore — a quiet documentation of the handlooms that enter our conservation studio and the histories they carry.
Today, we honour the Venkatagiri saree.

Woven in the town of Venkatagiri, Andhra Pradesh, this handloom tradition traces its lineage to the early 18th century, when these textiles were crafted exclusively for the Velugoti royal family. The sarees are known for their exceptionally fine combed cotton, feather‑light drape, and the restrained use of pure silver and gold zari — an aesthetic shaped by royal patronage where elegance was preferred over opulence.

The design vocabulary is equally dignified: delicate floral vines, temple borders, geometric linework, and minimalistic pallus. Every motif is woven, never printed — a testament to the precision of pit‑loom weaving and the discipline of the artisans who sustain this craft across generations.

As this Venkatagiri saree enters our atelier for restoration, we honour not only the textile but the lineage of hands that created it. Conservation, for us, is an act of preservation — of craft, memory, and India’s handloom heritage.

This series is our tribute to the weaves we are entrusted with, and to the artisans who continue to keep India’s handloom traditions alive.

31/07/2026

Taking you behind the scenes as we prepare and apply silk crepeline to secure the edge of a 19th‑century Banarasi dupatta.

In conservation practice, crepeline is selected for its stability, transparency, and ability to introduce support without altering the textile’s visual character. At Rang Riwaaz, each stage — colour‑matching through dyeing, finishing through careful ironing, precise folding, and finally hand‑stitching — is carried out to ensure that the intervention remains minimal, reversible, and respectful of the original craftsmanship.

This method allows fragile historic edges to be stabilised while preserving the integrity, drape, and woven vocabulary of the textile. Conservation is not only about repair; it is about safeguarding the narrative embedded in every thread.

27/07/2026

At Rang Riwaaz, silk crepeline is used as a conservation‑grade support in treatments where stability must be introduced without altering the textile’s visual or structural character.

Its sheer weave allows us to reinforce fragile areas with minimal intervention, maintaining fidelity to the original craftsmanship while ensuring long‑term preservation. This ensures reversibility of the conservation techniques and helps keep the original article unaltered.

Each material we select is part of a considered, conservation‑aligned methodology shaped by research, respect, and the quiet discipline of restoration.

25/07/2026

A close‑up view of this 19th‑century ceremonial beenjna, shared as a visual treat as it arrives to us for restoration, reveals the refined workmanship of late‑colonial North Indian ateliers, where hereditary zardozi embroiderers and metalworkers shaped luxury objects for elite households in centres such as Lucknow, Banaras, and Awadh.

Its repoussé silver handle meets velvet‑lined panels worked in dense zardozi and pure silver salma—a collaboration of specialised craft lineages whose techniques were passed from one generation to the next.

At this intimate scale, the celestial motifs reveal their full intricacy: a slender crescent moon rendered in chhilka sitāra setting, and a radiant sun unfurling its rays in padded zardozi. Both, like the rest of the fan, are embroidered in pure silver salma, whose natural oxidation has produced the gentle tarnishing now visible across the surface. This paired lunar–solar imagery, deeply rooted in Indo‑Islamic and syncretic courtly design, symbolised protection, cosmic balance, and the cyclical passage of time. Such motifs often adorned personal accessories used in ritual, bridal, or seasonal ceremonies, where objects carried both aesthetic refinement and auspicious meaning.

Seen closely, the floral jaal, lunar crescent, and solar rosettes form a quiet cosmology—an artefact that once moved through intimate spaces, catching light as it accompanied moments of celebration. This detailed view allows its craftsmanship to be appreciated in the way its original maker intended.

Time has softened its surfaces: velvet thinned by touch, pure silver threads drifting from their anchoring, the metal settling into a dignified patina. Yet beneath these traces of age, the original artistry endures with remarkable clarity.

This reel offers a detailed study of its fragile state before conservation work steadies the textile, consolidates the embroidery, and allows the sun and moon to shine once more with their intended quiet splendour.

22/07/2026

They don’t make these pieces anymore — so we restore them.

This vintage bridal dupatta is a piece of living history: dense gold zardozi embroidery on deep maroon chiffon, with floral patterns once handcrafted for South Asian weddings. Time and use have left tears and frayed sections, but the memories woven into the fabric are worth saving.

At Rang Riwaaz, we specialize in preserving heirloom textiles so they can be passed down for generations, not forgotten or discarded. Every stitch is slow, precise, and respectful of the original craftsmanship.

Preserving memories in textiles, one restoration at a time.