The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Dhotis rule the ramp at Co-optex's fashion show

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Apr 03, 2007
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Dhotis rule the ramp at Co-optex's fashion show

R. Sujatha

Students from National Institute of Fashion Technology bag every award

REVIVING TRADITION: Pawan Thukral, Varun Kotwal and Nishkam Tripathi, students of National Institute of Fashion Technology, who were declared winners of the Co-optex fashion show on Monday. — PHOTO: K. PICHUMANI

CHENNAI: When it comes to fashion, Tamil men are still partial to the traditional veshti. And like their elders, the younger generation does not care much for accessories.

But their peers from the north do not mind experimenting. They sport chunky beads and sew on sequins to their dhotis and kurtas. The young men who walked the ramp on Monday at the Co-optex's fashion show sported fuchsia and lavender coloured dhotis, tie-and-dye voile kurtas, sequined and gold block-printed tunics to go with pyjamas and semi-dhotis.

The men from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, Chennai, endorsed the traditional attire of the rural folk across the vast northern heartland and stole the show. The winners, Nishkam Tripathi (first prize), Pawan Thukral (second) and Varun Kotwal (third), wore black and enhanced it with beige and fuchsia. Their black slip-on sandals and their demeanour spelled attitude.

The eight NIFT participants aimed to revive an interest in traditional handloom fabrics in the new generation, they said. Their attire combined "traditional voiles and checks for shirting woven in the looms of Kozhikode and embellished with techniques of printing and embroidery."

In contrast, students from Chennai's other colleges chose to stay within the traditional boundaries of white veshti and checked shirts. Some in the audience were upset when the prizes were announced. They said the winners were models who paraded exotic collections and that the veshti was not given its due.

But the judges refused to entertain any complaints saying the organisers wanted them to look for creativity, choice of fabric, execution and surface ornamentation. While none of the veshti-clad men wore any ornaments, the NIFT students had made a statement. Even the three consolation prizes went to NIFT.

That the judges included an associate professor from NIFT and a representative of Swarna Jayanthi Gram Swarojgar Yogana did not help. NIFT's students are working with weavers in Kozhikode in a special project under the yojana. The third judge was the deputy director of Pothigai television. The fashion show was held on the concluding day of Co-optex's exhibition.

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