BHARATI PAWASKAR
She is an international garment designer, a creative dressmaker with an enduring passion for antique textiles from different, foreign cultures. The garments she makes are of natural fibres and natural dyes. She lays an enormous emphasis on ethical sourcing and the clients she caters are celebrities. The stitching details, texture, colour, simplicity and comfort that her designs offer are simply to be wowed. Dorothy Reglar who is in Goa has worked for Bellvile Sasoon, a couture house in London. She designed the embroidery for garments bought by royalty including Princess Alexander and Lady Diana. The celebrities who were her clients included Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor too.
“My work with textiles is not only about creating and producing “ it is about sharing with others what I have experienced; the sheer joy and almost spiritual feeling of a wonderful piece of fabric that transcends the normal,” shares Dorothy, for whom fabric is the most tactile of arts as she points out in wit “ “You can’t wrap yourself in an oil painting.”
Currently on a three week tour to Goa, Dorothy is helping to put together over 300 pieces of hand embroidery works by 200 plus women in Goa who are working on ‘The Banyan Tree Embroidery project’ initiated by artist Eleanor Viegas at Peace Cottage in South Goa. The project aims at connecting women of all ages, cultures and continents.
“Dorothy’s work is an expression of values, her love for fabric and dedication to the craft of hand embroidery and fine stitching. Her garments are a demonstration of patience and fine craftsmanship with the aim of keeping alive hand stitching on hand woven cloth. It was her generosity of spirit which took her to different parts of the world to work with women in sometimes troubled circumstances. And it is this generosity which has brought her to Goa to share her skill and expertise and help us,” shares Eleanor. As for Dorothy, she enjoys the exchange of ideas and ‘know how’ she shares with these skilled women and the result is beneficial to them all.
After four years at Art College in Birstol and Birmingham Dorothy was fortunate enough to get a job as assistant designer for Bellville et Cie in London. For eight years, she worked for the company designing and organising embroidery for the very special wedding dresses and evening gowns for high society occasions. “During this time I was also teaching part time at Hornsey and Birmingham Colleges of Art,” she quips.
Working from her studio Brewery Arts for a couple of decades, she moved places as her business expanded. People now come from long distances to buy from her and she has a loyal clientele. Dorothy also works with weavers in Thailand and Laos. Working with small groups of silk producers, natural dyers and weavers in South East Asia has not only reinforced and expanded her interests in different cultures’ textiles but also put her experience in the fashion world to invaluable use. Dorothy learns from these talented artisans and they gain insight into the western culture that will buy their items. She recalls, “I first went to Thailand for Oxfam as a design consultant in 1994. I worked with Karen women in the jungle on the Thai Burma border helping them produce simple garments for the local market and the Oxfam catalogue in the UK. I was introduced to a group of Karen weavers’ situated over the mountains in Thailand. This was the most successful project funded by the Swedish government and lead by an American born in Thailand. I worked as a designer for them for several years.”
Dorothy’s aim has always been to work with the design and special quality of textiles. With her background in couture she has carried that experience with her and has enjoyed conveying these qualities to others. “Through the universal language of the needle and thread I have been able to work with women of different cultures and not speaking their language has never been a barrier,” smiles Dorothy.
