The once-ubiquitous dhoti, known by various names across the country, has seen better days.
Co-optex has decided to revive its popularity by showcasing it as elegant attire, whatever the occasion.
On Tuesday, male employees of Tamil Nadu Handloom Weaver’s Co-operative Society, known popularly as Co-optex, wore the vaetti (dhoti) to work.
In the evening, the employees hosted a fashion show to display the garment, which was once patronised by leaders, from Mahatma Gandhi to E.V.R. Periyar, in the 20 century, and has now been relegated to ceremonies by youngsters.
“The youth are enamoured with western clothes. When we ape the West, we fail to appreciate the hard work our weavers put in to create the garments. Co-optex has introduced a variety of ‘vaettis’ to encourage youngsters to wear them. The fashion show is to motivate weavers,” said handloom and textiles minister S. Sundararaj.
The sales during Deepavali this year were around Rs. 121 crore, about Rs. 20 crore more than the 2011-12 festival season, he said.
At the fashion show, the various ways the simple garment can be worn were showcased. The garment, which is simple to don and comes with colourful borders, can also be aesthetically draped to suit the occasion, said Mr. Sundararaj.
Co-optex managing director U. Sagayam said he had written to district collectors across the State to enable their employees to wear dhotis to work on any day between January 1 and 15 and the response had been heartening.
“We have also written to colleges to help promote the ‘vaetti’ as this will give our weavers a boost,” he said. Co-optex has, so far, earned Rs. 215 crore and aims to touch Rs. 300 crore by March. Last year, the organisation earned Rs. 245 crore.
