Smriti Irani goes whole nine yards as textile minister; promotes #IWearHandloom on Twitter

If you missed out on the ‘100 Saree Pact’ — the social media movement aimed at popularising saris as everyday-wear — then there’s a new Twitter campaign that may be give you a chance to go the whole nine yards.

Unlike the 100 Saree Pact, however, this is a more inclusive movement (of both genders, we mean) and is focused on reviving Indian handlooms.

Having taken charge of the textile ministry after the recent cabinet reshuffle, Smriti Z Irani is back in the spotlight; this time, for promoting handlooms on social media.

On Monday, 1 August, Irani tweeted a photo of herself in a blue silk sari, captioning it: “I support Indian weavers, here’s my #IWearHandloom look — handwoven silk from Bihar.” She further explained how the campaign worked: “Share your look and tag five people,” she wrote.

I support Indian weavers, here's my #IWearHandloom look - Handwoven Silk from Bihar. Share your look & tag 5 people pic.twitter.com/1NOuueJ0mS

— Smriti Z Irani (@smritiirani) August 1, 2016

Taking Smriti’s challenge seriously, a number of Twitterati immediately began to share and tweet images of their handloom outfits along with the hashtag, and mentioned why they loved Indian handwoven textiles so much.

Among them were sports personalities like Vijender Chauhan and Virender Sehwag; designers like Manish Malhotra and Suketu Dhir; while the political sphere was represented by Jaya Jaitly and Amruta Fadnavis.

Wonderful initiative @smritiirani ji #IWearHandloom because it's one of the best representation of our culture pic.twitter.com/E0fQKuGxEM

— Vijender Singh (@boxervijender) August 1, 2016

Wearing Handloom makes u feel free&gives livelihood to our weavers
Handloom pehno,ekdum Free Ho jaao!#IWearHandloom pic.twitter.com/u3L2qfyL5o

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) August 1, 2016

Proudly #Handloom on my sleeves literally 😝🙏🏼❤️ @TheFDCI @TexMinIndia @smritiirani #IWearHandloom pic.twitter.com/BMPVWMJ8Ab

— SUKETDHIR (@SUKETDHIR_) August 1, 2016

#IWearHandloom #support#Handloom #textile @MMalhotraworld @smritiirani pic.twitter.com/nhgOfMNMWs

— Manish Malhotra (@ManishMalhotra) August 1, 2016

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was among those who praised Irani’s initiative, tweeting: “A nice initiative by @TexMinIndia to spread the importance of textile and handloom sector!”

In recent times, there have been several attempts to revitalise Indian handlooms: Designers like Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Gaurang Shah among others, are at the forefront of working with weavers to ensure that traditional textiles garner the appreciation they deserve. The Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai has even had a dedicated National Textiles Day for the past few editions, where designers showcase only collections based on Indian weaves.

Smriti’s “Selfie With Handloom” campaign, will go on till 7 August, which is observed as National Handloom Day.