This is the season for handlooms. Among designer silks, Tussars and synthetic weaves, signature cottons become the showstopper during Onam. Boutiques in the city go to town with special Onam collections that try to tweak the Kerala handloom and give it the look that sells, particularly because, these days, traditional Onam finery is not limited to Thiruonam Day.
“Almost every organisation hosts Onam events and most people will be attending at least two or three such events, in their homes, at the office, by the residents’ association, community celebrations and so on, for all of which traditional attire is expected. As such, Kerala handlooms fly off the shelves during the season. Most of my customers shop for multiple handloom saris and they expect each one to be different,” says Sonia Sreekumar, who runs Katha, a handloom-only boutique in the city.
Also, Kerala handlooms are popular gifting items in this season of new beginnings. “Onam season actually started a few weeks ago with the arrival of non-resident Indian customers who’ve come home for their summer holidays. Many of them pick up Kerala handlooms for themselves or as gifts for their loved ones, giving a fillip to sales,” explains Sheila James of Czarina, one of the oldest sari boutiques in the city. “Every year for the past 28 years now, I’ve tried to come up with something different for Onam, be it colour combinations, designs, borders in complementary fabric, without compromising on the inherent style and originality of the weave,” she adds, pointing out several gorgeous saris in her Onam collection, embellished with ari work and a hint of beads, “basic” block prints, appliqués, mirror work, and so on.
Similarly, designers and weavers are experimenting with the handloom material to come up with saris, mundu-neriyathu, shirts, kurtas, kurtis and veshtis, pretty davanis, skirts, frocks and the like, in a bid to appeal to contemporary tastes. Weavers Village for example, has a series of classy off-white cotton kurtas, cute dresses and saris boldly embellished and/or embroidered with prints of birds, animals and flowers. “The idea, this time, was to champion the fading art of Kerala handlooms with representative designs of flora and fauna of Kerala, which come into prominence during the season, such as elephants and peacocks, ixora, lotus and hibiscus flowers,” says Sobha Ashwin, one of the co-owners of the boutique.
Designers say that they can experiment so much because the fabric itself is versatile. “As a canvas, Kerala handlooms are really the best. They go with just about every material and you are only limited by your creativity,” says Sheila.
In most stores ‘plain’ garments (read off-white bodies with gold/silver solid borders) simply don’t make the cut these days. Even weavers in Balaramapuram, the centre of handloom trade in the state, are doing their bit by embossing borders with different designs and dyeing karas in contemporary colours like hot pink, fluorescent green and electric blue. “The classic combination of off-white and gold has a timeless appeal and is so arrestingly elegant and effortlessly chic that it’s loved by customers of all ages. That said, most women now want a bit of pizazz in their drapes, even if it’s just a strip of Ikat attached along the length of the borders,” says Maithri Anand of Vedhika boutique. She has teamed the Kerala sari with all manner of weaves, material, embroideries and colours, even velvet, Kancheepuram and lace, to give each sari a designer spin.
The most popular of embellishments, to be found in almost all boutiques, is, perhaps, block prints (more exclusive stores have hand-prints too) in various hues and designs. This time, Ethnic Weaves has gone the biggest and boldest with block prints. “We have saris with elaborate block prints in the pallus, in ‘partly’ style (designs only where the vertical pleats fall and/or where the pallu pleats fall), and a few even running along the entire length of the sari. All of them come in typical Onam designs such as peacock feathers, birds, flowers, and mural-painting like impressions of Gods and Goddesses, and so on,” says Kunjumol Cyriac, who runs the store.
Many of the saris also reflect global fashion trends. For instance, florals are in vogue, so is the colour indigo and patterns inspired by jeans cloth. Designers who have a keen eye for fashion have incorporated all of this into their collections. Truly international, is the Kerala handloom.
