Chekkutty dolls which became a symbol of survival and hope in flood ravaged Kerala, has conquered the hearts of couturiers and super models at the ongoing M4 Marry Bridal Fashion Week at Kochi. It was celebrity makeup artist and hair stylist Ambika Pillai who introduced Chekkutty to noted designer Anju Modi.
The dolls were created by a group of fashion enthusiasts using handloom textiles in a bid to rebuild the weaver’s village of Chendamangalam, which was severely affected by the recent floods. When the models came to know about the story of Chekkutty and Chendamangalam, they too joined Ambika Pillai, in the intervals between their turns at the ramp, to make these beautiful dolls.
The organizers of the fashion week aim to make hundreds of Chekkutty dolls to introduce it to the fashion scenario. The money collected through the sale of these dolls would be used to rebuild the traditional handloom industry at Chendamangalam.
Ambika Pillai said that the venue of M4Marry Bridal Fashion Week should be used to make the dolls popular in the fashion world. “It’s all about creating awareness. Most people don’t even know that Chendamangalam was under water. They don’t know that this was their (people of Chendamangalam) livelihood. They don’t know that the village needs help. So just spread the word,” said an emotional Ambika Pillai.
It was super model Noyonika Chatterjee who first joined in to make the Chkkutty dolls, and was later joined by the rest of the models including Sonalika Sahay. They even asked the meaning of the doll’s name ‘Chekkutty’ to Ambika. All of them enthusiastically made the dolls in the interval between their makeup sessions. They made more than a hundred Chekkutty dolls to decorate the stage and ramp of the fashion week.
Popular fashion designer Anju Modi and her colleagues would visit Chendamangalam on Saturday to understand the plight of the weavers there. The designer, who came to know about Chendamangalam from her friends in Kerala, said that she would cooperate in the mission to rebuild the village and save the centuries old handloom textile industry.
