The Anthologist Hand-Blocked Robe

Crafted in Jaipur | Organic Cotton | Chimera Print

The Chimera arrives in Jaipur not just as myth, but as pattern. Our new hand-blocked robes are the result of a months-long collaboration with Sameer and his team of artisans — custodians of a craft that has defined Rajasthan for over 450 years.

In this region, block printing is not merely a technique; it is lineage. The tradition is believed to have begun in the 16th century, when Mughal emperors championed textile makers and sent block-printed cottons as prized exports across Asia and Europe. The method has changed little since: each wooden block is carved by hand, each pigment is mixed by hand, and every motif is stamped, one impression at a time, by human rhythm rather than mechanical tempo.

That rhythm is meditative, imperfect, deeply human — and it is the source of the robes’ undeniable soul.

 

A Collaboration Defined by Weather, Chance, and Devotion

This is the first time Anthologist has produced in India, and it revealed the true meaning of “handmade.” Fabric is washed by hand. Dried by the sun. Carried, hung, and repositioned throughout the day. And this year, the monsoon arrived early, transforming a three-month timeline into six. For weeks at a time, the cloth simply could not dry. Work paused. Sunlight was chased. The schedule bent to nature’s will.

But in this pause was the poetry of the craft — a reminder that handmade work moves at the pace of weather, light, and human hands, not urgency.

Sameer, who was instantly enthralled by the Chimera — part lion, part goat, part serpent — approached the project with both reverence and delight. Together, we developed a custom palette; the printed panels were washed again, laid under Jaipur’s golden light, and finally cut and sewn by hand. The result is a robe that carries not just a pattern, but a journey.

A Wearable Story

The Chimera leaps across organic cotton as a symbol of strength, transformation, and possibility. The robes drape with ease, made to accompany you everywhere:

• over a bathing suit
• with sneakers
• with ankle boots
• barefoot at home
• layered over denim or silk

A robe is one of the most intuitive garments — a companion piece. For those who travel, it tucks easily into a suitcase. For those who stay home, it brings the world to their morning ritual.

A Word from Andria

“People don’t always understand what handmade truly means — that every part of this robe was done by hand, often multiple times, and under the most unpredictable circumstances. Drying fabric in the Jaipur sun while the monsoon kept returning… it was extraordinary. But that’s what gives these pieces value. Countless messages, countless video calls, countless decisions. Sameer is remarkable, and these robes are a joy. They go everywhere with me — over swimwear, with boots, with sneakers, barefoot in my house. They’re effortless, soulful, and made with love. That’s what matters to me.”

Exclusively Anthologist

These robes are not produced quickly, nor can they be. They are slow by nature, shaped by weather, time, and human devotion. They are made to last, made to wander, and made to be lived in.

A wearable story — of place, of craft, of myth carried forward.

The palette is based on the geography of color:

Anthologist’s Chimera robes carry a palette drawn from Greece’s elemental landscapes and living traditions. Rust recalls the iron cliffs of Paros meeting sand and sea, while Cycladic blue offers clarity from sky and water. Fig and ochre speak to August abundance, branches heavy with fruit, fields aglow, anchored in midnight blue — the color of dusk rituals and myth. Petroleum captures the mineral depth of the sea, shifting and infinite, while Aegean blue, paired with midnight, honors the iconic hues of domes, shutters, and waves. Together, these tones form a map of land, season, and horizon — a chromatic journey where craft and story converge.

 

Rust with Cycladic Blue Chimera

• ⁠Rust evokes the cliffs of Andria’s favorite beach in Paros, where iron-rich rock meets warm sand and the edge of the sea. The Chimera in Cycladic blue cuts across this horizon — a color of clarity drawn from sky and water.

 

 

 

Fig and Ochre Stripe with Midnight Blue Chimera

• Fig and ochre recall August orchards, branches heavy with ripe fruit, and fields tinged gold in the late-summer sun. The Chimera in midnight blue captures the ritual of dusk harvests, when figs taste sweetest plucked from a neighbor’s tree.

 

 

 

Petroleum Stripe with Midnight Blue Chimera

• ⁠Petroleum is the depth of the sea — mineral, infinite, ever-changing. The Chimera, stamped in midnight blue, belongs to this expanse where myth is reflected in water and horizon.

 

 

 

Aegean Blue Stripe with Midnight Blue Chimera

• Aegean blue is the color of domes, shutters, sky and waves that define the Greek islands. Paired with midnight blue, it becomes both iconic and enduring, a palette that carries the spirit of heritage across generations.