Samantha Akkineni and Preetham Jukalker give a new twist to handlooms

Handloom lover Preetham Jukalker’s goal has always been about making handlooms more chic. He is known for creating edgy ensembles using handcrafted weaves, some of them sported by actress Samantha Akkineni quite often.

“Why can’t we make handlooms sexier, we thought! That’s how  Samantha and I came up with those looks,” says the 30-year-old designer who moved to Hyderabad from Mumbai to work closely with the artisans here. In August, he collaborated with the actress as the head designer of the label Tweaves (shortened form of Telangana Weaves).

She had launched the label last National Handloom Day in association with the Telangana Government in an attempt to revive handlooms. “While Samantha adds a glamour quotient to the designs, I work towards adding the creative inputs,” says Preetham. Happy with the amount of love and affection that people have showered on the label, he says, “Tweaves will soon open a store where shoppers can find bespoke handloom ensembles crafted with personalised attention.” The designer, whose Ikat pocket saris  were all the rage last year says, “Samantha and I are keen on working with the Telangana art form, Gollabhama (an ancient weaving technique where milkmaid motifs are used). We also want to work with local fabrics like Gadwal and Narayanpet.”

paulami@newindianexpress.com
@Paulami309