KOCHI: Are you fed up with regular ethnic wear and want to add some pan Indian touch to your wardrobe? Then the exhibition on at Helipad Ground at Marine drive in Kochi is a one-stop destination to satisfy this wish.
Doing away with the middlemen and bridging the gap between the rural weavers and the buyers across the country, Fibre to Silk Fab, the exhibition being held is a respledent display of handloom fabrics and ornaments produced from every nook and corner of the country. The things on sale here are produced and designed by the local weavers and jewellery makers. Their ethnic and popular fashion tastes are different from the everyday wear that someone find in many of the shops here.
The exhibition offers a wide variety of handloom products such as Chikan, Banarasi Silk, Block Print, Bandhej, Kota, Daria, Bandhni, Kutch Embroidery, Traditional Chanderi, Maheswari, Batik Print, Tussar, Baluchari, Dhakai Jamdani and Gadwal Silk, which are not available in shops in the city throughout the year. The kashmiri sarees on display here are a major attraction and comes with a stole inside. Holding out a black Kashmiri shawl, the seller woo the customers in,” Pashmina shawl is a matter of pride for us Kashmiris.
Just a touch of the finest pashmina and the customer won’t look for another fabric. “When we marry off our girls, we gift them with a pashmina shawl”, he said.
There are stalls which are solely dedicated to silk sarees. Be it the handwoven Ikat Patiola silk sarees from Rajput or the unmatchable royal Mysore silk from Karnataka or the Paithani silk from Maharashtra, they have everything geared up inside the small stall. The Bhagalpuri silk and Madhubani painting sarees from Bihar are a rarely seen collections. Kanchipuram silk sarees with its unique weaving style and beautiful borders attract much crowd. The kantha embroidery typical of states like West Bengal and Odisha is another work which has many takers from the exhibition. Phulkari suits from Punjab with their splendid colours is also catching visitor’s attention.
Pure silk and cotton saree, suit, kurties, top jewellery, carpet, bed sheets, shirts and home decor items are also put up here. The exhibition also has ethnic and tribal jewellery pieces including necklaces, bracelets, anklets and noserings to match up with the ethnic dresswear.
The expo has become a popular choice for buyers where one can get a huge variety of quality products at a reasonable price. The exhibition will continue till June 24.