Hanveev (Kerala State Handloom Development Corporation Ltd) is on a “revival mode this Onam”, according to its managing director KT Jayarajan with a range of new products for men and women. “Till now, the designs were being decided by our weavers themselves and most of them were repeated year after year. But this time, it has been done by our in-house designers,” he says.
In addition to handloom cotton and silk saris with “fresh designs”, there are ready-to-stitch salwar material with “archetypal embroidery work and hand-painted motifs”. This is available in cotton and poly cotton, he says.
Hanveev Punarjani sari | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
The collection includes Punarjani saris, the brand name of jacquard saris from Palakkad. “All pit looms in Palakkad area producing jacquard cotton saris were damaged in the flood last year. They were left unused for over a month. Hanveev stepped in to help them and they are now weaving them with designs and dyed yarn supplied by us. That’s why we named the batch Punarjani. They are cotton saris with golden and silver zari. The presence of zari is a must for the weavers. The designs are manually made with tie and dye warp,” explains Jayarajan.
He adds that power-looms are not used to manufacture any product. “Independent buttas on the body of a sari can’t be done using the loom,” he asserts.
Shirt from Hanveev’s collection | Photo Credit: Special arrangement
Men’s section too has new products such as mercerised cotton shirts and wrinkle-free shirts. Mercerisation is a textile treatment method that gives the fabric strength, durability and lustre. “Silk and linen shirts in attractive colours is another highlight of the men’s section,” he adds.
While unstitched materials are priced ₹700 and up, the Palakkad saris cost ₹1,280 and above.
The Onam collection is available at Hanveev’s showrooms at Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur.