Muslin update

[nwhiker]

About a year ago, I posted this linking to a BBC story about a special kind of almost-mythic muslin, the cotton needed to make it, and the efforts to regain a lost art.

Here is some more background information: Our Story of Dhaka Muslin.

And much more exciting, here is an update: Textile hub Bangladesh revives muslin, the forgotten elite fabric.

The intense labour needed means that any garments stitched from Dhaka muslin will always remain a boutique product, but the government has found some tentative interest from established industry players.

“We want to make it a top global fashion item. It has a great history,” said Parvez Ibrahim, whose family owns a factory supplying global fashion retailers.

“But to bring down cost, we have to speed up the production process. Otherwise, reviving Dhaka muslin won’t mean anything.”

Oh man, no, my dude. Completely wrong. It doesn't matter if the muslin remains the purlieu of the ultra-rich elite and hopefully museums. Everything about this muslin, from the cotton plant to the spinning and weaving techniques needed to create a fabric called "woven wind", was grabbed back from oblivion, something lost was found. That, in itself, is enough.