In a bid to capture upper niche market in the country and international market, the State Government is all set to make a foray into the fashion world with its hand-woven handloom products.
With 113 designs ready and more to come under the Design Reference Collection of Odisha Handlooms Project, the Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Department will showcase the finest handloom products of the State in the Wills Fashion Week scheduled to be held at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi, beginning October 6 to explore business response.
A high-level meeting, chaired by Minister for Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Sarojini Hembram on Saturday, reviewed the progress achieved under the project being implemented by Sambalpuri Bastralaya Handloom Cooperative Society, Bargarh. The objective of the project is to develop designs to suit local, national and international markets and create greater awareness among the local weavers about the emerging markets, said Handlooms, Textiles and Handicrafts Secretary Usha Padhee. It also aims at providing more employment opportunities in handloom sector both to finest craftspeople as well as weavers needing orientation in their skills. The project period is of 18 months with a financial outlay of Rs 157.5 lakh. It targets to produce 160 new-designed products each in three colour ways, Padhee said.
Five eminent designers of international repute __ Rita Kapoor Chishti, Rakesh Kumar Thakur, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Anjali Kalia and Bibhu Mohapatra __ have been roped in as design consultants. So far 113 designs have been developed into fabrics. The products were displayed and highly appreciated because of their texture, colour combination and high craftsman quality. Out of these, 45 products were selected. New products, to be developed within September 15, will be displayed in the exhibition to be organised during Wills Fashion Week, she said. Besides, arrangement for sale of few traditional handloom products of the State will also be made on the same pavilion. The project is unique of its kind and will definitely help Odisha handloom products to fetch greater share in the national and international market. It will also help in upgrading the skills of local weavers and make their livelihood more sustainable, Padhee said.