Presidency Jail to produce Abhishek Dutta's designer clothesline

The forbidding red façade at Old Alipore, interspersed with multiple lines of yellow-painted bricks, seems a planet away from the glitz of Mumbai’s Kemps Corner or Juhu that sells designer labels at prices matching those at Macy’s or Saks Fifth Avenue stores. But chances are that the toniest of dresses for the swish set in Mumbai, Kolkata, or Ahmedabad have been either crafted or stitched in a century-old prison, the Presidency Jail, where the only visible form of design for many inmates would have been the honey-comb shaped lattice that let pale sunlight into their cells as the usual dreary day drew to a disappointing close.

For Abhishek Dutta, the Presidency Correctional Centre that began in 1864 doesn’t seem forbidding or gray, however. The Kolkata designer whose labels are sold at posh stores in downtown Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Nagpur, or Raipur, has set up a 24 machine unit at the jail premises in Alipore to design and produce an exclusive clothesline for both genders. Besides his own stores, the garments would be sold at West Bengal government outlets - Biswa Bangla and Tantuja - that are located in major state capitals.

In total, 41 men at the correctional centre, with little or no experience in stitching apparels, have been selected for the programme under which they would be trained by Dutta’s seven-member team alongside the designer himself, and will also be absorbed by his designer studio once their terms in the penitentiary are over. Jointly funded by the state government, the collection from the jail would consist of bandhgalas, pants, kurtis, and other patterns that would be made at this facility.

“Some of these people had some experience in basic stitching, but they still need a lot of learning to understand and work with high speed machines that we use for our outfits. For a programme, like this we are investing a lot of patience and trust. It was difficult to convince the staff at my studio to take up the work here, but finally we have a team to train the inmates we have selected for the programme,” said Dutta.

Dutta’s initiative seems to have been inspired by the success of TJ’s, the brand New Delhi’s Tihar Jail uses to sell its produce. Produced at the Tihar Jail Factory by inmates, the TJ’s apparels and uniform materials are sold even in the federal Parliament, besides the Delhi High Court and all district courts in the capital. The output, however, is more modestly priced, and is not part of any designer label.

At Presidency Jail, however, although the initiative is funded in part by the state government, Dutta believes his biggest investment is lending his brand name to the collection. The chosen inmates would be given basic training in stitching, finishing, and pattern-making with the use of modern machines. However, Dutta said couture line needs professional expertise so we will only come up with a basic range. Dutta is also planning a fashion show to launch the collection.

There would also be an assessment toward the end of the first month to understand how the programme is shaping up, and a decision will be taken if all the members can continue the training or there would be a new set of people replacing some.

“I will personally try to incentivise the sessions for them so that they grow more interest in the work. We’d do an assessment every once in a while and the best performer would be allotted some extra money that would be sent to their homes,” said Dutta. “After the successful completion of this phase we will look at starting a similar programme with woman inmates.”

For its part, the correctional services of the state government had been considering such an engagement, and was in the hunt for an individual who would give a concrete shape to the plan. “We had been thinking of doing this for a long time and Abhishek is finally giving shape to this project. We also want to thank Biswa Bangla and Tantuja that have agreed to sell the products,” said Arun Kumar Gupta, DG and IG, correctional services, West Bengal.