Every girl you meet will have a soft corner for saree and jewelry. Their love for these two things is infinite and never-ending. But how beautiful would it be to wear a story? Interesting, right?
Pattachitra or Patachitra is mainly famous in the state of Odisha. Raghurajpur is the hub of Patachitra art. It is well known for its intricate details of mythological stories and folk narratives inscribed in it. We commonly know it as scroll painting on a cloth. And the beauty of the concept inspired Mitali Madhusmita to start Vipakka.
Founder’s background
Mitali Madhusmita, a 44-year-old woman, is an art lover and had a creative mind ever since she was a child. Having her roots back in Odisha, she was always impressed and attracted to the Pattachitra art form. Despite being passionate about art, she worked in the software industry for 5 years. But after becoming a mother, she took a break and decided to follow her creative dreams.
The Initiative and the Struggles
She decided to follow her dreams by incorporating the art of Pattachitra in her collection of sarees and gave it a beautiful tagline, “WEAR A STORY.” Having strong support from her family, she enrolled herself in a fashion designing course in her early 30s and competed with young minds.
She decided to start a handmade jewelry workshop, but it wasn’t a cakewalk for her. It became tougher when her husband got transferred to Bangalore. Though her dream to conduct workshops didn’t come true, but she refused to give up. They settled in the new city and she started with Vipakka by Mitali on Facebook. It enabled her to showcase her work to thousands of people.
Teamwork and Products
With the help of talented artisans from the Raghurajpur village in Odisha and some in Bangalore, she expanded her business. Keeping the beauty of the art alive, she’s providing a range of Pattachitra products.
The different products are sarees, jewelry, home décor items, dupattas, plates, kettles, and many more. The best part about it all is that they give an aesthetic and traditional finish keeping the art intact. They proudly say that Pattachitra sarees and kettles are their best sellers.
Wear a Story
Their saree collection is mainly handcrafted using purest Eri and Muga Tassar yarn fabric. As the work requires immense skill, the art on the saree can take months depending on the design.
One of their collections narrates the tales of Lord Krishna’s Ras Leela. They’ve also shared that their Pattachitra sarees are skillfully designed on high-quality cotton and silk sarees. This fusion of traditional art and modern fashion is a treat to the eyes.
Encouraging Women Empowerment
A few kilometers away from Puri is an exuberant village named Raghurajpur. Pattachitra art is immensely famous in that village and is practiced by almost every family. It’s beautiful how every house has murals embellished on its walls.
Initially, it was only men who performed this art, but with time women have also joined in. They have taken up the work of intricately designing the different folklore and mythological stories.
Vipakka by Mitali Madhusmita has recognized talented women and gave them a platform to showcase their finesse through art. It has given them both national and international recognition. Mitali Madhusmita has been empowering women through its widest range of products ever since.
By combining traditional art with modern fashion, Mitali gave a new direction to fashion designing.
To know more about Vipakka, please check – Website, Facebook, Instagram.
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