Hey,
I’m Heena, the head fashion and textile designer at HeenaAgrima. I don’t just develop silhouettes — I also create the art over the textiles that build those silhouettes.
And today... I’m angry.
There are so many reasons behind it, and honestly, I didn’t know where else to rant. So here I am, pouring it out on this blog — maybe for you, maybe just for myself.
I want to talk about my struggles with fashion design, with craft — especially natural dyes — and with my constant battle to create regular, stable textiles using them. It’s frustrating. It’s exhausting. And it feels like a part of my soul is constantly fighting to stay alive inside this beautiful, chaotic mess.
1. The Dream of Working with Natural Dyes and Block Printing.
For my sixth collection, which was a spring-summer collection called Poppy, I did intense research about block printing.
Until now, whatever craft I had explored, I feel the reason why I attained success was because I did it myself, at my own studio.
But for some reason this time, I wanted to work it out more artistically. I wanted to be in the aesthetic of the villages where block printing is done with natural dyes.
I was so naive and polite to the entire process — but I guess people don't want to evolve.
2. The Harsh Reality: Rigidity and Resistance to Evolution.
I get it — it’s difficult for craftspeople to change how they work. But honestly, the designs I took weren't even that difficult.
I’ve learnt that crafts in India lack a basic idea of evolution.
People will continue doing the same style again and again, and if someone (like me) brings in a new idea — maybe a different way to place blocks or create patterns — they wouldn’t want to experiment.
This rigidity is exactly why I ended up setting up my own space.
Because travelling to these villages takes a lifetime of effort — and being a woman, I felt people didn't take me seriously.
I really felt that.
To them, my collection wasn’t important.
My blocks were “too unconventional.”
And you know what?
This isn’t even the part that disappointed me the most.
3. The Never-Ending Battle with Timelines and Communication.
Here’s where the real frustration begins:
The craftspeople wouldn’t take responsibility for accuracy or for timelines.
If I needed something in 15 days, it would take 30.
By the time the work arrived, the season for the collection would be half passed.
Being an artist or a craftsperson does NOT give you the right to play with someone’s deadlines.
If you need more time, ask for it. Tell us honestly.
But instead, people over-promise, over-commit — and then under-perform.
As an artist myself, I understand how painstaking and lengthy natural dyeing can be.
But when I’m promised something and it's not achieved on time, it feels terrible.
And OMG — let's not even get started with non-communication.
They all have phones.
They are all on WhatsApp.
They are all watching reels and scrolling Instagram.
But when you make a WhatsApp group for project communication?
Silence.
They don’t bother to inform you when deliveries will be late.
They don't even make an effort to communicate delays.
And because of these casual, laid-back, non-responsive habits, everything gets delayed.
Hence the famous phrase:
“Indians are always late.”
Let me complete that phrase properly:
“Indians are late because the chain of Indians that other Indians depend upon to get their work done are laid back and non-responsive.”
The anxiety that one gets from non-responsiveness is unmatched.
You're committed to a deadline for your client, and then they send the fabric after the client deadline has already passed.
By then, what’s the use?
4. The Root Problem: No Documentation, No Evolution.
Craft in India hasn’t evolved because no one has the habit of recording what they do.
They will never write down their recipes.
They depend entirely on andaaza — “assumption.”
And then when things go wrong, they just shrug and say, “Oh, natural dyes will deflect.”
Yes, natural dyes do change shades!
Yes, achieving consistent colors in natural dyes is a task!
But that's the whole point —
That’s the challenge!
If you are serious about natural dyeing, you NEED to record every step you take:
-
The heat while scouring
-
How long you maintained the heat during mordanting
-
How long you soaked your cloth
-
Even the kind of water you used — because minerals in water affect dye bonding!
It’s a lot of work to achieve consistent shades.
But because people don’t care to remember what they did —
First, they promise you precision...
Then they deliver an orange cloth instead of the deep red you asked for.
ARGHHHH.
I’m so annoyed.
5. Building My Own Space for Evolution.
Maybe that's why I keep coming back to my own studio.
Because if evolution is impossible elsewhere,
I'll build my own damn evolution — block by block, mistake by mistake, color by color.
At least here, my madness finds a home.
Well, I hope to write my next blog soon and I hope it's a cheerful or a lil positive than this one. This blog isn't to offend anyone, this is my personal experience! You dont have to agree or disagree, its just another blog on just another website :)
#nofearonlyflowers.
HA.