: From Shillong to London, Designer Popularises Unique Silk That Doesn’t Kill Silkworms #IndiaNEWS #Fashion On 25 November 2021, the Shillong-based Daniel Syiem’s Ethnic Fashion House celebrated

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From Shillong to London, Designer Popularises Unique Silk That Doesn’t Kill Silkworms #IndiaNEWS #Fashion
On 25 November 2021, the Shillong-based Daniel Syiem’s Ethnic Fashion House celebrated its 10th anniversary. Founded by fashion designer Daniel Syiem and his business partner Janessaline Pyngrope, the fashion label has played a pivotal role in the revival of Ryndia silk, which is extracted from the cocoons of the Niang Ryndia (Eri Silkworm) without killing it.
The core objective of this label is to safeguard and promote this heritage fabric hand spun and woven by the Khasi women of Ri-Bhoi district in Meghalaya, which gives Ryndia “the visual appearance of hand-spun cotton or wool with a muted sheen of silk�.
Daniel Syiems label makes high-quality ensembles largely for women in natural fabrics like Ryndia, cotton and linen without using any artificial chemicals to fix the colour. Instead, they use natural dyes drawn from items like turmeric, charcoal, various types of berries, tea leaves, onion peels and even cow dung. From Shillong to major fashion events in Mumbai, Bangkok, London and Toronto, Daniel has given this traditional and natural fabric an international platform.
When Daniel and Janessaline started this venture in 2011, the traditional Khasi practice of weaving Ryndia silk was enduring a slow death. Losing out to the fast-fashion ecosystem, it needed someone to understand the intrinsic value of the local weaving community’s work and offer better branding solutions to this sustainable, eco-friendly and traditional practice.
“Traditional weaving of Ryndia silk was a dying art form,� Daniel tells The Better India.
“Nearly all Ryndia spinners and weavers are women, who are sometimes single mothers supporting their families. Since there were hardly any markets for their products, these women were giving up on weaving and getting back to other professions like agriculture. There was a need to upgrade these products and put them up in the market,� he adds.
He says, “Thankfully, so much has changed within the weaving community in the past 10 years. There are women entrepreneurs now who have set up huge weaving stations in their villages, and they are exporting their products abroad. There is so much focus on Ryndia now, as compared to when we started. We take pride in that. �
Janessaline Pyngrope and Daniel Syiem have done stellar work in promoting Ryndia silk
Finding Ryndia
Ever since he was a child, Daniel was passionate about fashion design. In his school notebooks, he recalls drawing sketches of dresses. After finishing high school in Shillong, he wanted to pursue a career in fashion design. But there were hardly any designers in the city and the fashion industry was more or less non-existent in Shillong and the Northeast as well.

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