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Meera Mehta is a weaver and textile designer, based in
In the late 1990s,
Mumbai
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...
, India. Textiles she has created have been displayed in museums and galleries around the world. Mehta is best known for her revival of the Paithani sari.
Career
In particular, she has been responsible for the revival of the ' Paithani'sari
A sari (sometimes also saree or shari)The name of the garment in various regional languages include:
* as, শাৰী, xārī, translit-std=ISO
* bn, শাড়ি, śāṛi, translit-std=ISO
* gu, સાડી, sāḍī, translit-std ...
, a legendary sari, which has been woven in Maharashtra, India for the past 2,000 years in a town located close to the Ajanta caves, to its original grandeur. The Paithani sari is known for its intricate weave of pure silk and gold. Many of the designs have been influenced by Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
paintings which can be seen in the woven Paithani motifs. Radha Parthasarathy, the vice president of the Crafts Council of India (CCI), says that Mehta's designs are both "stylised and sophisticated." Her Paithani saris can take between 2 months to a year to complete, based on the complexity and size of the design.
In the late 1990s, British Airways
British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport.
The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...
decided that it would adorn several of its aircraft with one of Mehta's saris. BA put the design, with Mehta's signature, on the tailfins of its planes. Mehta commented, "This is even better than having someone wear it."
Many of her brocades and saris have been displayed in museums in the United States, Switzerland and London. Mehta is an invited speaker at museum societies and cultural organizations and as a judge at fashion and design schools including the National Institute of Design
The National Institutes of Design (NIDs) are a group of autonomous public design universities in India, with the primary institute, founded in 1961, in Ahmedabad, with extension campuses in Gandhinagar and Bengaluru. The other NIDs are loc ...
, Ahmedabad, her alma mater and NIFT, Mumbai. She also speaks about the history of the sari at NIFT and other colleges. In 2002, she designed a collection of gold jewelry for InterGold which was launched with the World Gold Council.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mehta, Meera Living people 1950 births Indian textile designers Indian women designers Artists from Mumbai Women artists from Maharashtra