FROM GANDHI TO GUCCI, a delightful India still glorifies in its diversity. The season couldn’t have been any better for the new fashion destination New Delhi that witnessed a much talked about fashion show ‘Symphony of Weaves — The Handloom Ensemble’. Held at the Craft Museum, Pragati Maidan on the night of December 21, 2009, it marked the beginning of the Handloom Week, an annual event, starting from 2009, conceived by the office of the Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India.

The evening was kicked off by Union Minister of Textiles, Thiru Dayanidhi Maran in presence of Rita Menon, secretary, Textiles and Dr JN Singh, DC, Handlooms. The Union Ministry of Textiles wanted the fashion show to travel from New Delhi to Chennai, Patna, Guwahati and Chandigarh. The responsibility to put up a collection involving twenty handloom clusters spread across the country was given to Vikram Rai Medhi from Assam. He with his design team of Meghna Rai Medhi, Jonali Rabha, Saumar Jyoti Dutta and Minakshi Dhekial Phukan created eighty garments representing a pan-Indian feel.

To lend support to the cause former Indian cricket captain Mohd Azharuddin, actress Shabana Azmi, designer Ritu Kumar, Fashion Design Council of India president Sunil Sethi, designers Payal Jain, Anju Modi walked the ramp along with super models on December 21 and 22 during the fashion show. “I was overwhelmed by the response we received from the industry. Rajesh Pratap Singh, Renu Tandon, JJ Valaya, Arun Bahl, Madhu Jain, Siddarth Tytler and many designers were there to support me. Shabanaji, Azharbhai, Rituji, Sunilbhai and others agreed to walk the ramp which was a huge boost for me,” said Vikram.

There were five sequences — Southern Fresco, Vibrant West, Northern Mosaic, Mystic East and Exotic North East. The who’s who of Delhi social circuit was present on both the days to witness the shows. Those invovled in the show saw Union home secretary GK Pillai with his family, Jaya Jaitley, consulates of foreign countries even as the national media taking keen interest in the Northeast handlooms.

The fashion show shifted to Chennai on December 26 which was inaugurated by D Napolean, ex-filmstar and Union minister at Taj Connemara that saw a full house. Next on the destination was Patna where DC, Handlooms inaugurated the event at Hotel Ashok Patliputra. It was a new experience for Patna and the super models were surprised by such warm response from the city.

Guwahati, the Gateway of the Northeast witnessed the much anticipated event on the terrace of Hotel Landmark on the night of December 30. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi inaugurated the event in presence of Pranab Gogoi, minister of handloom & textiles. The Chief Minister expressed his happiness to see the progress of Indian handlooms, in particular of Assam. He was also happy to see an Assamese executing such a large pan-Indian event.

“We are looking to keep the traditional values of our handlooms intact and at the same time, get the young and generation next excited to go for eco-friendly handloom wear. To create the brand awareness of our handloom fabrics, we have created a line in fusion to open new doors for handloom industry and incorporate the changing times,” announced Vikram during the event.

The fashion show’s next destination is Chandigarh where it will be held on January 25, 2010.

For the record, India has around 35 lakh looms with over 65 lakh weavers and allied workers. Ninety-five per cent of the world’s hand-woven fabrics come from India and handloom accounts for 15 per cent of Indian exports on an average. In India, the handloom sector is the largest employer after agriculture. One hopes that more such events take place where one can come across different cultures, heritage that will open new doors of opportunities making the Indian handloom industry flourish to new heights.

Bornali Konwar