Designers like Tarun Tahiliani, Vikram Phadnis and Neeta Lulla to help revamp Varanasi handloom

VARANASI: Reputed designers of the country will converge here on Tuesday in a bid to revive core Banarasi handloom products, including the fabled saris.
Courtesy the ministry of textile and Banarasi Vastra Udyog Association (BVUA), they will interact with stakeholders of Banarasi handloom industry to chart a common course of action for the industry.

The event is the brainchild of designer-turned-BJP politician Shaina NC. "Creating design sensibility among local manufacturers is the basic objective behind this endeavour. They will display their designs woven by Banarasi artisans under Make in India campaign," she said.

"In the long run, this will help in boosting the wages of handloom weavers and compel those who had migrated to other textile hubs like Surat, to return to their old form of weaving," she added.

Ashok Dhawan of BVUA said that direct interaction between designers and manufacturers will help in evolving a synergy in their working. "It will help both these groups in knowing what they expect from each other. Perhaps it is the best way to revive the industry by focusing on improving its creativity and demand of products," Dhawan said.

Vaibhav Kapoor from BVUA said designers Tarun Tahiliani, Vikram Phadnis, Neeta Lulla, J J Valaya, Anamika Khanna, Lina Tipnis, Nachiket Barve, Kumar Vikas Saxena, Mark Robinson, Alka Nishar, Wendell Rodricks, Rakesh Thakore, David Abraham, Rohit Bal, Gaurva Gupta, Anju Modi, Sonika Agarwal, Rahul Mishra and Rajesh Pratap Singh have been confirmed for the event so far.

Union textile minister Santosh Gangwar and development commissioner (handloom) of Union ministry of textile Alok Kumar will also be present.