The handloom industry has been significantly hit during the pandemic. But some fashion brands are taking a proactive step and lending a helping hand to struggling weavers. One such is WeaveinIndia, a Chennai-based fashion brand that will showcase their design collections at Raintree on Sankey Road. Called ‘Weaves’, the artisanal pop-up will give tradition a twist by combining age-old weaves with contemporary designs. With the aim to lift distressed weavers across the country, the brand is collaborating with a wide range of weavers to promote handlooms and textiles ahead of Deepavali.
According to Mandira Bansal, founder of WeaveinIndia, the brand lays great emphasis on hand-woven fabrics to craft sarees to the liking of a ‘contemporary Indian woman’. “The pandemic has hugely impacted the supply chain for weavers, leaving them devastated. Orders from big brands came to a grinding halt that pushed many weavers across the country into unemployment. This pop-up aims to bring an extensive collection of hand-woven apparels under one roof,” says Bansal.
Weaves is planning to add a new range of personalised fashion wear, while also introducing new labels. “For the first time, we are bringing Kota Doria to Bengaluru. Sourced from Rajasthan’s Kota, these sarees are made of pure silk and cotton and display a checkered pattern called khats. Besides our unique label, Banarasi and Kanjivaram sarees are also on display. The show will also feature interesting bridal and festive wear that will be a treat for brides-to-be,” says Bansal.
The pop-up will also feature a ‘blouse studio’ for personalised, handcrafted blouses to complement outfits, including finely-crafted lehengas and ready-to-wear sarees. In addition, WeavesinIndia is also collaborating with ShopMulmul, a franchise of WeaveinIndia which will display an interesting line-up of fabrics by MulMul. This includes a handpicked variety of cotton kurtas, sarees and other traditional wear.
The pop-up store will be held on October 21 and 22, at Raintree, Sankey Road. ShopMulmul will display their collection on October 23. The timings are between 10 am and 6 pm.