TILDA IKAT ROBE
The Tilda Robe is inspired by Tilda Swinton and her ethereal and majestic composure that is almost other-worldly. The way that she brings to life her characters with her performances blurring the line between life and art. It is her expertise at her craft and her celebration of the artisan and makers that inspired us to create a robe for her, bearing her name, with her blessings. Thank you Tilda.
The Tilda Robe is made with over 4 meters of Silk Rayon hand-dyed and handwoven by artisans in Sakon Nakhon. The 4 meters of fabric is comprised of 2 meters of Ikat fabric and 2 meters of plain indigo fabric. Traditionally, this “set” was used to make a jacket and trousers for officials in Sakon Nakhon. We use the whole length of the fabric both plain and patterned goes in the robe. The Ikat part of the fabric is individually placed by hand at the atelier to make sure to best tell the pattern’s story and showcase it’s beauty.
The lapel of the robe is lined with hand-spun handwoven cotton also from Sakon Nakhon. The back neckline sees the artisanal cotton fabric connected to a ribbed cotton fabric dyed in natural indigo. This additional panel which has slight stretch ensures that the robe drapes against the neck and shoulders creating a minimal silhouette. The robe can be closed with two fabric ties on the inside.
The fringes on the sleeves are the edges of the textiles panel on the loom. When finishing up a panel, the weaver leaves an additional length of warp yarn so as to “finish” the panel and give it a border which signifies when the next panel will start. These yarn borders are often discarded, we collect them as they are the rarity that shows the beginning and end of a textiles story. We also find that it gives movement to the robe.