Kankatala, one of Andhra’s most-loved sari brands is in the city for a pop-up, just for a day!
Vishakhapatnam-based Kankatala, renowned for their unique saris, is back in Chennai for their third pop-up since 2018. Fresh off the success of their just-completed pop-up in Coimbatore, the curated pop-up of saris handpicked by members of the Kankatala family features banarasis, kanjivarams, paithanis, patolas, khadis, kotas, gadwals, ikats, chikankaris and uppadas. Popular with several celebrities including Karishma Kapoor, Keerthy Suresh, Rambha Indrakumar, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Lakshmi Manchu, Lavanya Tripathi, Pooja Hegde and Tamannah Bhatia, among many others; we catch up with director Anirudh Kankatala, to find out more.
“We’re bringing traditional weaves from across the country to Chennai for the upcoming festive season and this will include our special fusion saris — kalamkari on paithani, bandhani on kanjivaram, kalamkari on patola, petit point on kanjivaram, chikankari on kanjivaram, kota with a paithani border and the likes — something that we’re really famous for as a brand,” opens Anirudh Kankatala, who is also one of the curators of the pop-up.
Kankatala, established in 1943, is known for its hand-picked, hand-woven saris and as is known for its 75-year-old unbroken tradition where each and every piece is carefully selected by a member of the family after careful scrutiny checks for quality of weave, design and fabric. “We’re 79 now and will turn 80 next year, and I am the third generation in the family business. We hope to open stores in Chennai and other parts of South India soon, but are currently based in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi, outside Andhra Pradesh. That’s the reason we’re so enthusiastic about this pop-up — it’s our only way to connect with our clientele in Chennai,” explains Anirudh, a Penn State graduate.
The pop-up brings silks, cottons, organzas and koras in a 2,000+ piece collection including a special bridal edit and a special patan patola edit in the asawali weave — each of which takes a year to make!
INR 4,000 onwards. August 26. 10 am to 8.30 pm. At The Folly, Amethyst.
romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal