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.
Male employees of Tamil Nadu
Handloom Weaver’s Co-operative Society, known popularly as Co-optex, wore the
vaetti (dhoti) to work (Jan 07, 2014). Later, 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.
Handloom and Textiles Minister
Mr. S. Sundararaj said that, 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. He
said, the sales during Deepavali this year were around Rs. 121 crore, about Rs.
20 crore more than the 2011-12 festival season.
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. Co-optex managing director Mr. 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. He said, the Co-optex have also written to colleges to help
promote the ‘vaetti’ as this will give the weavers a boost. 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.
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