Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in coloured silks and with gold and silver threads. The name comes from Italian Broccato meaning "embossed cloth". Brocade is typically woven on a draw loom. During the Mughal period, around 14th century, weaving of brocades with intricate designs using gold and silver threads became the speciality of Banaras.
Throughout history, Brocade was a fabric of luxury worn by nobility in various cultures, from India to Korea. Brocade is a heavy fabric similar to Jacquard with a raised pattern or floral design. Traditionally, the pattern was produced with gold or silver thread said to be of such superb quality that they could be woven into fabric of pure gold and silver. There is evidence of different textured Brocades since the Rig Vedic period c. 1750-500 BCE, including fabric of gold known as Hiranya Vastra.
In regular weaving, the weft thread passes over the warp thread. The weft is the transverse thread, and the warp thread extends through the length of the fabric. In Brocade weaving, extra weft threads of different coloured silk or metallic threads, better known as Zari, are woven into the base fabric to form a pattern. The use of Zari is not only traditional in Banarasi brocade, but also in the embroidery art of Zardozi.
The Geographic Indication (GI) status given to Banarasi brocade means that Brocade saris made only in the districts of Varanasi, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Jaunpur, Bhadohi and Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh can be authentically identified as Banarasi sari or Brocade.
