Starter Kit. Idea 398 of 500. Cluster 20
Batik and handloom in contemporary fashion, sold in London and Tokyo, not only at the airport
The mechanism, from the book
Sri Lankans make the world's underwear to the world's standard, and the country has no fashion brand of its own that the world has heard of.
The first step
Commission three contemporary pieces from a batik or handloom workshop, a shirt, a scarf and a dress, and photograph them well against a plain background. Send the pictures and a wholesale price to five independent boutiques in London and Tokyo, and ask for a trial order on sale or return. One boutique's order is your proof.
- Who pays first
- An independent boutique in London or Tokyo that wants handmade textiles with a story and has not been offered Sri Lankan pieces in a modern cut.
- What leaves today
- Batik and handloom now sell as airport souvenirs at low prices; contemporary design sold abroad keeps the higher value and the weavers' skill at home.
Ask first
- National Crafts Council. Ask which batik and handloom workshops make contemporary work.
- Sri Lanka Export Development Board. Ask whether support exists for craft fashion selling to shops abroad.
Check before you spend
Who owns each design, the workshop's capacity to repeat an order, and the labelling and import rules of the country you sell into.
Find out these three numbers
- What wholesale price will a boutique pay?
- How many pieces can a workshop make each month?
- Will a boutique order on sale or return?
A comparison from the book
Zermatt. Chapter Five
"This is what people mean when they say a brand. It is not a logo."
Contemporary pieces carrying one consistent name and story sell far beyond the airport shop.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
From the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? by Dr Maheshika Halbeisen. The idea and the mechanism are the book's; this kit was written for the site.