Bibi Shirt

Block print is a manual printing technique that uses hand-carved wooden blocks. The artisan dips the block in natural dye and presses it onto the fabric with precision, repeating the gesture hundreds of times for every metre of cotton. This process produces subtle variations between one impression and the next, making every Bibi women’s cotton shirt a unique piece.

To preserve the vibrancy of the block print, we recommend hand-washing in cold water or a delicate machine cycle at 30°C. Avoid bleach and tumble drying. Dry in the shade and iron inside out at medium heat. Hand-printed cotton tends to grow softer wash after wash, keeping its colours intact.

The Bibi collection comprises several patterns, all hand-printed on natural cotton: arboreal, floral, fan, botanical and geometric motifs. The palettes range from green on ivory to pink, from terracotta to the tones of the Indian countryside. Every variant retains the same soft cut and the same artisanal cotton quality.

The Bibi shirt lends itself to many pairings. Wear it with an Indian cotton pareo knotted as a skirt for a fluid look, or with a pair of artisanal cotton shorts. For evening, a soft quilted jacket adds structure without adding weight.

The difference lies in the production process. While an industrial shirt is machine-printed in seconds, every Fabindia women’s cotton shirt requires hours of manual work. Indian artisans use natural-based dyes and wooden blocks handed down through generations. The result is a fabric with a chromatic depth and a tactile quality that mass production cannot replicate.