Woven intricately with the history of India’s freedom movement, khadi’s prominence in the fashion and textile industry has been both, evolutionary and revolutionary. Over the years, khadi’s visibility has transcended from the runways, with fashion designers like Divyam Mehta, Suket Dhir and Shruti Sancheti exhibiting their khadi edits at Lakme Fashion Week X FDCI earlier this year, to prêt-a-porter labels. Gandhigram’s ready-to-wear khadi brand Samhita is the latest addition to khadi apparel. The brand, developed in collaboration with the Centre of Excellence for Khadi (COEK) and NIFT, Delhi, will showcase its inaugural collection at The Folly, Amethyst, in Chennai on October 20 and 21.
Established in 1947 under the under the aegis of Mahatma Gandhi, Gandhigram Trust, which champions the cause of building a self-reliant rural India, has already tested khadi’s mettle as a fabric. It was only some five years ago, when the idea of making a prêt collection struck the trust’s Deputy CEO Shibu Shankaran and it started making plain shirts and kurtas for men. “Two years ago, Gandhigram was chosen as one of the five centres by COEK, a collaboration between Khadi and Village Industries Commission and NIFT, Delhi. They took our fabric and made apparel designs; we selected a few designs and made samples. That got us excited and we started working on a full-fledged khadi garment brand Samhita, the first collection of which will be showcased for the first time in Chennai,” says Shibu.
