A botanical printed blazer gets its pattern from real leaves and flowers instead of ink. At Adam Leaves, every one is handcrafted in Mumbai from natural fabric, and no two are identical. This page explains how the print is made and how to choose the right blazer.
What is Nirmalya Print™?
Every day across India, flowers mark devotion and celebration in temples, weddings and festivals, and once the moment passes they are discarded as waste. We asked a different question: what if that waste did not have to be waste? Nirmalya Print™ is our signature technique for pressing waste flowers, together with foraged leaves and other botanicals, directly into cloth. Their true colour and shape transfer onto the fabric with no printing plate and no synthetic dye. You can read the full story on our Our Story page.
How a botanical printed blazer is made
- Preparing the cloth. The fabric is scoured, treated with a tannin bath, mordanted and rested for days so the plant colour can bond to the fibre.
- Laying the botanicals. Leaves and flowers are placed directly on the fabric, which is then rolled tightly around them and tied into a bundle.
- Steaming. The bundle is steamed for hours, sitting above the water rather than in it, so steam releases the pigment from each leaf and flower.
- Resting and curing. The bundle rests for 24 to 48 hours before it is opened, and the cloth then cures in the shade for several days before its first wash.
See the whole process on our Bundle & Steam page, or read What Is Eco-Printed Fabric?
Botanical printing, eco-printing and natural dyeing: what is the difference?
Botanical printing, eco-printing and botanical contact printing are different names for the same idea: transferring the shapes and colours of real plants directly onto fabric. Natural dyeing is different. In natural dyeing, fabric is soaked in a dye bath to give it an even colour, while in botanical printing the leaf and flower shapes themselves appear on the cloth. Reactive printing, which we use on some pieces and label clearly, is a separate digital technique.
Which blazers carry a botanical print?
Our botanical printed blazers are made in hemp and hemp-cotton blends, and the range changes as new pieces are printed. Current examples include the Bilvaa men's eco-printed hemp blazer, the Tejas men's eco-printed hemp blazer and the Meadow women's eco-printed hemp blazer. Browse them all in our eco-printed blazers collection, or see our hemp blazers for plain and reactive-printed styles.
Made in Mumbai, made to measure
Every blazer is handcrafted at our workshop in Borivali East, Mumbai. Many styles come with custom sizing, or you can choose standard sizes XS to XXL. Our fabrics are backed by third-party certification, either GOTS or OEKO-TEX Standard 100. Learn how customisation works.
Caring for a botanical print
Botanical prints are living colours, so they can soften or mellow over time. Gentle washing in a pH-neutral detergent, drying in shade and ironing on the reverse side helps the colour last. Our full guide is How to Care for an Eco-Printed Garment.
