New Delhi,
October 2021
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) organized a Khadi fashion show at Hotel Ashok in New Delhi, in association with the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). KVIC continues its efforts to make the Khadi fabric more fashionable, rather than being confined to drab politicians’ kurtas.
The fashion show, curated by FDCI Chairman and KVIC Advisor Sunil Sethi, showcased 60 designs by 10 budding fashion designers, who were selected through an All-India Khadi Designers Competition organized by KVIC. Top three designers were awarded cash prizes on this occasion. The first prize of Rs 10 lakhs was awarded to Designer Swatti Kapoor for highlighting Khadi as ethical and sustainable. For her collection, inspired by Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem “Kubla Khan”, she used fine Khadi Muslin fabric in plain and self-check with block printing, hand crochet and hand embroidery and other kinds of fabric manipulation.
Designer Dhruv Singh was declared the 2nd runner up with a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh. For his collection named ‘Anaarbagh’ he used plain Khadi cotton fabric embellished with special zari embroidery
The 3rd prize was shared by designers Kaushal Singh and Gaurab Singh, who won the cash award of Rs 2 lakhs each. Kaushal used plain weave Khadi and Blue Khadi Denim. Designer Gaurav’s collection was made of Khadi cotton fabric using zero waste design technique and contrast stitch line details.
The All-India Khadi Designers Competition was organized to introduce new design interventions and add a trendy twist to Khadi. The KVIC received 393 nominations from young fashion designers from across the country. A screening committee comprising Fashion Designers, experts from design institutes and top functionaries of KVIC was constituted to shortlist 10 best designers. The top 3 designers were selected during the show by the jury.
Chairman KVIC, Shri Vinai Kumar Saxena said the creations of these contestants will soon be made available at Khadi India outlets as designer wear. The idea is to attract younger generations towards Khadi with clothing that is comfortable, easy to wear and trendy.
“Khadi has been an instrument of social change in the pre-independence era and has transformed into a tool of resilience, resurgence and self-reliance in modern times. And from being a humble attire of the great freedom fighters, Khadi has evolved into a symbol of fashion and ultimate luxury. This is for the first time KVIC organized a pan-India designer contest and the overwhelming participation was in itself a manifestation of Khadi’s popularity among the youth,” Saxena said.
