Telangana weaves to be showcased onNational Handloom Day

: With a focus on revival of the Telia Rumal Ikat and the Mahadevpur Tussar silk saris in natural dyes, other Telangana's weaves will be showcased on August 7 on the occasion of National Handloom Day, senior officials said on Monday.

This year, the Gen-Next Designer Section, with the objective to promote upcoming designers to use the handlooms of the state and work with weavers in clusters across, is the new addition, they said.

"August 7 is a platform to enable in improving market access to Telangana handlooms and also to promote Telangana handlooms every year," director (Handlooms & Textiles) Shailaja Ramaiyer told reporters here.

"Each year we have been dealing with different types of handlooms and different themes, and this year we are looking to revive Telia Rumal which has long since been languishing and to show how the small scarf which is naturally dyed and treated with oil canactually become a piece of high fashion," she said.

New designs and colours have been created and would be worked on to go forward. The department of handlooms and textiles is also looking at having training programmes where weavers would be taught on making Telia Rumals, she said.

In addition to this, Tussar silk saris, which very few people know, are also produced at Mahadevpur in Telangana, which is a Tussar cluster now working on natural dyed saris. Thesewould also be displayed this year, Shailaja said.

The department, she said, is enabling emerging designers to come out with their collections from the handloom sector and they would be showcasing their own clothes using Telangana handlooms.

This year, the department would present a fashion showcase of traditional and contemporary garments by designer Rina Singh and seven emerging designers of Telangana.

The accessories for the shows are being made by Golkonda - the Handicraft Department, which would be displaying their hand-painted belts, hand-paintedshoes and bags.

They would also be an array of a range of women's wear with Bobbin Laces from Ghanpur being the highlight, Shailaja said.

"In this way, we are hoping to revive languishing looms and clusters and we are alsohoping that this will act as a big fillip and enable improved sale of handloom products," she said.

The skilled in-house design team at Telangana State Handloom Weavers Cooperative Society (TSCO) would be showcasing their modern casual mens collection of shirts, kurtas and blazers.

There would also be a display of handloom weavers stalls from Telangana and other states and sale for the general public from August 7 to August 12 at the Peoples Plaza.

Fashion shows every evening, a weaving Experience zone and food stalls would be the other highlights under the entertainment section, the officials added.