I remember the alienation at Abercrombie. A past shopping staple, one day it suddenly felt very dark, young and loud in that store.

Somewhere in my late 20s I decided to stop wearing clothes with name brands splashed across the front. All my tanks with sayings went to my niece and I opted for either solids or more subtle printed patterns for my wardrobe.


These days, I’m always on the lookout for interesting design that doesn’t look so off-the-rack, so mass America. Recently I came across ikat. From the Malay word "mengikat," which means to tie or bind, the pattern is popping up on starlets and runways across the globe.

In making ikat, the threads are arranged in bundles and dyed before weaving. Designated spots in the individual bundles are made to resist the dyes by wrapping with various dye-resistant materials. These bundles may be dyed several times, with more wraps added at each stage, similar to the batik process. The bundles are then opened and handwoven into the intended pattern. The results are a warp or weft that produces a veiled pattern.


The making of ikat is a technique of great antiquity which developed in Asia and spread to India, Malaysia, Central America and Africa. Genuine ikat designs appear like reflections in water, somewhat soft and blurred. This labor-intensive process produces beautiful patterns that not only give the wearer an appreciation of the beauty of hand-crafted designs, but actually represent a work of art.

In Thailand, villagers take the weft (crosswise filling threads) and tie tiny bits of plastic onto the threads. The tightly tied areas of thread, when put into the dye pot, resist the color and create a pattern, once the plastic ties are removed. Traditional Thai ikat cottons are often indigo-dyed in lively and engaging motifs representing the village life and beliefs of the people. Modern Thai ikats in cotton and silk are brightly colored with good imported chemical or natural dyes. See the grid above that shows some samples of how the pattern can turn out.

The ikat process has been used by a range of designers this season, including the eskandar double ikat scarf (above) and Oscar de la Renta bomber jacket (below). The execution creates varied results depending on how many rounds of dyeing and the choice of the binding patterns.
Ikat fabrics are woven by hand on narrow looms in a labor-intensive process. Handwovens, free of the chemical additives and stresses of power-loom production, are vastly different in appearance and feel from machine-made fabrics. Plainweave ikat fabrics, due to the unique resist-patterning, look the same on both sides of the fabric; there is no right side and wrong side to the cloth. The Thai ikats typically have 2” to 3” solid borders along each selvage. Many designers make use of these special qualities.


Cotton ikat is typically printed on medium to heavy weight, plain weave cotton. It is most often used for shirts, skirts, jackets and sarongs, however now it’s even available on lingerie, like the set above from Topshop.

While I’m not typically one to wear crazy patterns, I am somewhat drawn to the ikat. I would consider an ikat patterned top paired with jeans or black pants. Another option is an ikat accessory (scarf, sarong), which adds some interesting texture and color to your wardrobe. Just keep the rest of your outfit more neutral so you don’t read as excessively busy. C’mon, give it try!