Deeply creative Gilda Midani is no stranger to all manner of dyeing techniques. They are signature to her brand and infuse every piece with an unstoppable amount of joy. From Indonesian beeswax batik to Japanese Shibori, her techniques are sourced globally and employed in new and exciting ways. With her fondness for exploring twists on traditional craft, it’s no surprise to find the intricacy and depth of Ikat dyeing sprinkled throughout her 2020 collections.
Ikat, literally “to bind” in the Malay language, is a dyeing technique practiced all over the world where yarns are dyed into a pattern before they are woven together. Because the pattern in these textiles is created using the yarns instead of dyeing the cloth’s surface, both faces of the piece are ornamented.
Ikat is defined by a characteristic “blurriness” to the design, as a result of extreme difficulty in aligning the pre-dyed yarns when weaving the finished cloth. Although Ikat with little blurriness can be achieved with much care and skill, and is thus more expensive, collectors and admirers alike cherish the “blurriness” of the pattern as a central quality of the technique.
There is a beautiful earthiness to Gilda’s designs, played up here by both the buzziness of a complex Ikat, richness of the color and the flowy airiness of her silhouettes. The pieces have an incredibly easy wearability, designed with exploration in mind.