The making & meaning of Ce qui se trame, Textile Matters

Shefalee Vasudev in conversation with Mayank Mansingh Kaul, curatorial lead of Textile Matters, Ce qui se trame, that concluded earlier this month at the galleries of The Gobelin at Mobilier Nationale in Paris. With exhibition design by French designer Christian Louboutin and Kaul, the exhibition underlined the cultural connections and intersections between India and France through textiles. It was presented by the Ministry of Culture: Republic of France, The French Institute and The Embassy of France in India. Textile Matters was staged across seven distinct sections which presents exhibits from more than forty participating textile makers, artists, designers, ateliers, studios and private to institutional collections across India and France, covering a period of four centuries from the 1600s to now. In this conversation, Kaul talks about why this exhibition matters to purveyors and the textile curious in India, working with Christian Louboutin and why the curatorial choices he made were consciously stripped off clichés in patterning, design and presentation peculiar to works shown in the West from India—so no Bollywood, elephants, peacock, Tajmahal or hunters. Full interview on www.thevoiceoffashion.com and Youtube.