Ministry of Textiles hosts Artisan Speak with 6 fashion designers

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 7, 2019

The Ministry of Textiles held Artisan Speak on January 5 to celebrate India’s textile heritage with designers Rahul Mishra, Rajesh Pratap Singh, Gaurang Shah, Anita Dongre, Anju Modi, and Rohit Bal.

On Saturday, the Minister of Textiles Smriti Irani hosted an awards and fashion show to recognise those who have contributed to India’s handloom and textile sector. Irani began the evening by presenting awards to Madhu Jain, Sunil Sethi, Kiran D. Malali, Ramesh Devangan, Vijaya Kumar, Suresh Kotak, and Mani Chinnaswamy among other prominent personalities in the fashion and textile industry.

The event, which was the first of its kind to be held on the premises of the Red Fort, also featured runway shows where the six chosen designers presented collections at the location. Irani called the event “historic” adding that it showed the government’s dedication to India’s fashion industry, especially the handloom sector. The government is working to promote garment and textile exports as part of its “Make in India” campaign. 

“This event brought together weavers, artisans, textile conservationists and fashion designers to celebrate the glorious textiles legacy of our country. We have recognised the efforts of weavers and artisans on the one hand, and on the other hand, we have names like Madhu Jain, who has been working to promote Indian textiles. I must also mention Sunil Sethi, who has been awarded today,” Irani told the Times of India at the event.

Sethi, the president of the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI), was involved with a number of handloom promotional events last year.