Selvedge Textile Tour of India 2026: Delhi

The first week of the Selvedge Textile Tour of India unfolded in and around Delhi — a city where history presses close and craftsmanship is woven into daily life. Across monuments, markets and museums, textiles surfaced repeatedly: stitched into stone, traded in narrow lanes, preserved in collections and reimagined in contemporary studios. 

The Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh. Photo: Katerina Knight

The week began with a drive to Agra. There, the winter haze hung lightly over the Taj Mahal. Up close, the monument reads as surface: carnelian and lapis lazuli coaxed into stone through intricate pietra dura inlay, floral tendrils as fine as embroidery. Monumentality here is an accumulation of skilled hands.

Example of Zardozi Embroidery.

That dialogue between monument and handwork continued in a zardozi workshop with Shamji & Faizan Uddin, where gold and silver thread moved rhythmically across velvet frames, the hooked needle flashing in practised arcs. From this quiet, concentrated space, the story of metallic thread spilled back onto the streets of Old Delhi, shifting the scale from imperial patronage to everyday commerce in the Kinari Bazaar. Beside the surge of Chandni Chowk, trims and tassels shimmered from shopfronts no wider than doorways.

Detail of a cycle rickshaw.

At Birbal Das Saree Collection, brocaded silks were unfurled in luminous waves, and at Raghav Gota Zari Emporium, Sanjay Sharma spoke of metallic thread as both trade and tradition, surrounded by borders destined for bridal finery. Later, a rickshaw ride through Chandni Chowk plunged the group into a choreography of bells, bargaining and colour — the living pulse of the textile market.

A visit to the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib. Photo: Katerina Knight

Between the bustle, moments of reflection grounded the week. At the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib, a sacred sikh temple, embroidered rumalas rested upon the Guru Granth Sahib, cloth offered in devotion. Later, Swati Tiwari’s curatorial walk-through at the National Gallery of Modern Art traced textile references across modern Indian art, while Rta Kapur Chishti’s session on the sari returned to the intelligence of drape — how one length of cloth can hold region, ritual and identity. 

Pashmina details at Kashmir Loom. Photo: Katerina Knight.

Textiles at the National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New Delhi. Photo: Katerina Knight

In quieter corners — Kathika Cultural Centre, Neem ki Haveli and the vast courtyard of Jama Masjid — history felt close enough to touch. At Kashmir Loom, Asaf Ali revealed the discipline behind fine Pashmina weaving, and at the National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, designed by Charles Correa and explored with Dr. Vandana Bhandari, textiles emerged as living archives of migration and memory.

Woven details at Paiwand. Photo: Katerina Knight

Contemporary Delhi proved equally compelling, revealing how deeply the past informs the present. At the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art and Serendipity Delhi, craft met modern practice in thoughtful and unexpected ways. Outside the gallery walls, that conversation became tangible in working studios, with a chance to get hands on and try textile processes. Visits to Pero with Aneeth Arora, Indigene with Jaya Bhatt, Paiwand with Ashita Singhal, Eka with Rina Singh and Raw Mango with Salman Buchhari showed designers balancing continuity and reinvention — honouring hand processes while shaping new narratives for a changing world.

Hand embroidered, artisan textiles at Eka. Photo: Katerina Knight

Outside the capital, the Surajkund International Crafts Fair offers another celebration of this vitality, bringing artisans and audiences together in a shared space of exchange. From marble inlay to market brocade, from devotional cloth to contemporary ateliers, the week unfolded as a series of vivid frames. By week’s end, what lingered was texture: marble cool beneath the palm, silk pooling across a counter, gold thread catching late afternoon light — each moment affirming that in India, textiles are not background, but the very fabric of cultural life.

As the journey continues beyond Delhi, further stories of skill, continuity and innovation await. Join us next week as the tour journeys deeper into India’s remarkable textile landscape.

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Further Information:

Read more about the Selvedge Textile Tours of India here.

Lead image: Textiles at the National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New Delhi. Photo: Katerina Knight

All further images as credited in photo captions.