Cloth that Changed the World : The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz

The story of India's exuberantly coloured textiles that made their mark on design, technology, and trade around the world.
Chintz, a type of multicoloured printed or painted cotton cloth, originated in India yet exerted influence far beyond its home shores: it became a driving force of the spice trade in the East Indies, and it attracted European merchants, who by the 17th century were importing millions of pieces. In the 18th century, Indian chintz became so coveted globally that Europeans attempted to imitate its uniquely vibrant dyes and design a quest that eventually sparked the mechanical and business innovations that ushered in the Industrial Revolution, with its far-reaching societal impacts.
This beautifully illustrated book tells the fascinating stories of the widespread desire for Indian chintz over 1,000 years to its latest resurgence in modern fashion and home design. Featuring contributions from a multidisciplinary group of leading authorities on textile history, this publication is a rich insight into India's textile innovations and their influences on art, fashion, trade, and industry around the world in places such as Cairo, Japan, Sumatra, London, and Ottawa. Based on the renowned Indian chintz collections at the Royal Ontario Museum, Cloth That Changed the World showcases the genius of Indian chintz makers and the dazzling variety of works they have created for specialized markets: religious and court banners for India, monumental gilded wall hangings for elite homes in Europe and Thailand, luxury women's dress for England, sacred hangings for ancestral ceremonies in Indonesia, and the runways of Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai.