I’m Jeremy Azis and all my life I’ve had a passion for fine clothes. I like shirts. I like what they say to the world and how they make me feel. I like something different, know what I mean?
I may thrive in the modern hi-tech world, but I also like arts & crafts, traditional skills – and pure enterprise. I’m a film and TV producer and my job takes me to all parts of the world. I found these incredible artists and craftspeople with amazing skills in Jaipur whilst working with Metallica and F1 in Delhi.
Woodblock printing on textiles is over 4000 years old. Earliest surviving examples are in China dating to before 220. A printer must make around 300 impressions to produce one metre of finished cloth with five colours in the design. Patterns may require five or more wood blocks, each carrying a separate imprint. Some designs can use forty or more blocks.
This traditional process requires wooden blocks to be carved by hand, a great skill, with each block carefully chiselled to a precise design. Complex patterns may require four, five or even more blocks, each one carrying the separate imprint of a particular element of the design. The quality and intricacy of the block directly affects the appearance of the final print.
As I watched these artists and craftsmen making beautiful fabrics, and the tailors producing such wonderful hand-made clothes, I was more than impressed and determined to have a range of bespoke shirts made for myself. But while jealously seeking my own style exclusivity, I was also keen to see this art and craft gain wider recognition. The result is Eastern Eccentric – smart in the art of style.
We work with India's finest block carvers and printers to produce our unique range of clothing. All our clothes are made under fair trade conditions in India where giving regular work to skilled Block Printers and Block Makers ensures that their ancient trades continue, and provides work for many people.
Producing our hand-made clothes requires many layers of work from printing, discharging, dyeing and washing before a fabric is ready for use. The end result is unique, our clothes imbued with the printer’s individual skill, creativity and culture.
