KOCHI: Fancy those ethnic weaves your mom or grandmother used to wear in the glory 1970s and 1980s? Well, who doesn’t! But these days, it is quite difficult to get your hands on authentic gossamer silk, Pashmina silk, Banarasi silk, Muga Tussar and all those other fabrics that once made the country beam with pride. Fret not, the ninth edition of Cottonfab-2018 has begun in the premises of Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi.
The exhibition-cum-sale has set up more than 100 stalls from fabric traders of 23 states in the country. At the exhibition, churidar materials, kurti and sarees of different types of silk, cotton, blended silk and blended cotton are on sale. “Twenty per cent of the fabrics exhibited here is silk and the rest is cotton,” says Javed Khan, secretary of the exhibition.
According to Javed, Malayalis love chikankari embroidery and light-weighted chanderi fabrics. “To cater to their interests, we have brought in different collections of the same,” he says.The price of the kurtis start at Rs 250 and goes on to Rs 4,000. While churidar materials range from Rs 350 to Rs 4,000, sarees are priced between Rs 450 and Rs 9,000. For Saifuddin of Mallick Chikon Shilpo from West Bengal, this is his ninth time in Kerala. “I have been coming for the exhibition sale since the first time,” he says. The wide collection of Muga Tussar silk material at his stall is the hit of the exhibition.Apart from the fabric materials, the exhibition also has a collection of imitation jewellery, footwear, bags, bed sheets and traditional showpieces. Cottonfab will be in Kochi till July 30.