To celebrate India’s largest emerging cottage industry the National Handloom Day is observed annually on 7 August, since 2015. With weavers creating products using natural fibers such as cotton, silk, and wool, the day focuses to boost the confidence and income of artisans and provide greater recognition to handloom products.
This year, the main events were held in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, with an objective to empower women and girls of the state. To honor handloom weavers of India, Union Minister of Textiles and Women and Child Development, Smriti Zubin Irani, presided over a function at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Celebrating India’s glorious handloom heritage, the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), organized a meet, where Panelists, Ritu Kumar, Rta Kapur Chishti, David Abraham, Madhu Jain, Ramkishore Chhipa Derawala and FDCI Chairman Sunil Sethi discussed the topic, ‘Can our Handloom Heritage of the Past be a Springboard to the Future?’
Along with this, FDCI also held a textile and craft exposition at the Special Gallery of Crafts Museum, New Delhi, where a variety of handlooms were put at display to mark the contribution of handloom industry in the socio-economic growth of the country.
To celebrate the special occasion, Bollywood actress Karishma Kapoor took to her official Instagram handle sharing an old picture of hers in red saree asking her fans to guess the movie from which the still was taken. She wrote, “My love for the saree 🧡 and indian handloom started with this film 🎥 Any guesses ?? #nationalhandloomday2019 #saree#india #indianwear #indianhandloom#indianweaves.”
Karishma has been witnessed several times embracing the six yards of grace, oozing her love for the handloom.
Along with Karishma, Bollywood’s most controversial actress Kangana Ranaut shared a series of photos where she is seen flaunting the saree, supporting the craftsman of handloom industry for their contribution to the Nation’s pride.
In other photos, Kangana also took a moment to address the issue of poverty and joblessness among the artists due to lack of opportunity. Showcasing the creativity and fineness of the indigenous craft, Team Kangana wrote, “Celebrating #NationalHandloomDay with 6 handwoven looks that showcase the creativity, and fineness of this indigenous craft. ‘Woven’ can be worn sexy, chic, minimal or girly, as seen in these images of Kangana, who believes in promoting the undying art subtly to change the mindset about this ancient royal haute couture.”
