Why It Costs What It Costs: Inside the Studio Where Every DAC Kaftan Begins
Most people who ask about the price of a DAC kaftan are really asking a fair question: what am I actually paying for? This is our attempt at a real answer.
Sanganer - where the craft begins
Sixteen kilometres south of Jaipur lies a town called Sanganer, and for roughly five hundred years it has been one of the most important textile printing centres in the world. It was established by a Mewar Rajput ruler who turned it into one of the busiest art printing centres in India, and the craft flourished under the influence of both the Mughal Empire and the Rajput kingdoms - the Mughals bringing refined detail and Persian-inspired motifs, the Rajput aesthetic adding the vibrant spirit of Rajasthan.
By the 1800s it was already exporting printed textiles internationally. In 1902, Sir George Watt wrote that "as far as the technique is concerned, Sanganer can be easily observed as the capital of hand block printing."
Sanganeri prints feature over four hundred distinct motifs, most of which are botanical - the buti (small flower), the boota (larger motif), creeping vines, peacocks, irises, tulips, lotus buds. The patterns carry centuries of observation, of carvers studying the natural world and translating it into teak, one chisel mark at a time. Tamarindchutney
A craft under real pressure
Here is what is less romantic, and equally true: the practice of hand block printing is now being eroded by the forces of widespread industrialisation and commercialisation. The rise of mechanised production has led to a shift towards screen printing, marginalising traditional artisans and diluting the unique craftsmanship that defined Sanganeri prints.
Sanganer has also been under environmental threat for some time, owing to pollution and overconsumption of resources. When polluted waters started impacting the surrounding areas and local produce, the Rajasthan High Court was compelled to shut down printing workshops in close proximity to the affected areas.
In 1995, the government released orders to shut down all printing units to tackle environmental issues - putting about five thousand families' livelihoods and a centuries-old craft at risk. A campaign by local textile historians and makers eventually led to the creation of a textile park introducing environmentally responsible production, but the pressure on traditional studios has never fully lifted.
Why Khushiram's studio matters
This is the context in which we found Khushiram Pandey and his family in Sanganer. His father Awdhesh is a two-time National Award winner - one of the most recognised block printers in India. Khushiram grew up inside this tradition and now runs the studio that carries it forward.
What sets his operation apart is not just craft lineage. In an industry where water pollution has closed studios and threatened livelihoods, Khushiram runs a water recycling system - rare in the sector. His artisans work with azo-free dyes. His team is paid fairly and has access to healthcare. These are not marketing claims. We have been to the studio. We have sat with the team. We know what we are looking at.
What actually happens to make a DAC kaftan
The process is worth understanding, because it is nothing like what the word "block print" suggests to most people.
A carver first cuts the design into seasoned teak - a block for each element of the pattern, each one a precision instrument that takes significant skill to produce. The printing artisan then dips the block into azo-free dye, positions it on the fabric by eye, presses down firmly, lifts, moves along, and presses again. Across an entire length of cloth, in the Indian heat, with dyes that have to land right first time. After printing, the cloth is left to dry in the sun for the colours to set - a process that cannot be rushed regardless of deadlines.
The fabric then travels to our stitching artisans - a second team entirely - who stitch each piece to a finish built to last. Two separate skilled trades. Days of work between them. A five-hundred-year-old tradition practised by people who chose to keep it alive when cheaper options existed.
That is what the price reflects - not a markup, a process. And a decision, made every time we go back to Jaipur, about whose hands we want to work with.