Call of dhoti: How a Mumbai designer is popularising the Indian wrap-around

Praful Makwana has been fascinated with dhotis for as long as he can remember. Growing up in a cosmopolitan neighbourhood in Borivali, he saw different styles of the garment around him. When he asked his mother about it, she was surprised but did not hesitate in telling him more. Almost 34 years later, the fashion designer still has a child-like enthusiasm when he talks about the well-known yet under-loved garment. In 2019, he decided to convert that passion into an Instagram profile ‘@MisterMakwana', where he showcased more than 200 styles of dhoti drapes so far.

Interestingly, it was one particular incident that convinced him to pass on his passion for the dhoti as a garment for daily use to everybody else. When he suggested to his nephew that he should wear a dhoti at his wedding, , the latter shot back: "Dhotis are only worn by old people." Makwana realised, "In India, when you talk about dhotis, only ministers and pandits come to people's mind."

Making dhotis popular
After this, Makwanaand a few friends started a pact to showcase different dhoti designs and wrapping methods from around the country. "While they did not get past six drapes, I have now done over 200 and counting," says Makwana, who moved from Mumbai to the sunshine state Goa during the Covid-19 pandemic. These includetraditional drapes from Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, among others.

He did not intend to go viral. Now, with over 40,100 followers on the social media platform, the fashion designer, who also runs an independent label called Sepia Stories, is even creating videos to tell people how functional the garment is. "Since many people were hesitant about how the dhoti can be used for daily wear, I started making Reels to show people how different drapes can be used in different situations like walking a dog, for different functions, and more," informs Makwana.

Since 2019, Praful Makwana has done over 200 different dhoti drapes and shows people how to use them while doing different household chores. Photo Courtesy: Praful Makwana

Starting slow
Makwana's dhotis have turned heads at every event he attends. However, getting to this point wasn't as easy as it seems. Taking baby steps, he first started by wearing dhotis to work. "Since I was doing that for the first time, I decided to go with it once a week. Eventually, I started wearing it every day. It was not always comfortable because even I was still learning which drape would work better in which situation," adds the designer.

Being in the designing space, he takes the luxury of using different fabrics to mix and match and experiment with, to see what suits him best. He has understood now that each drape has a specific pragmatic utility. For every chore there's a drape variation. "If I have to exercise, there's a version. If I have to run errands, there's a variation. There's a variation for dance, a variation for traveling, and so forth. Also, traditionally a persons' profession impacted the drape. A potter would drape differently than a shepherd. A trader would drape differently than a weaver. We do not realise that with only one version prevalent in the mainstream, which too sadly limits it just to occasions."

Makwana has been collecting dhotis for approximately 20 years now and has been learning how to drape dhotis for even longer. "I remember when I was 19, a farmer's protest was happening near me but I was so fascinated by the dhotis they were wearing that I asked one of them to show me how to drape it in the middle of the road. He was shocked but he did show it to me," explains Makwana, who studied fashion design at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in the city. He has over 500 dhotis in his wardrobe now. No wonder then that he gave up wearing pants a year ago.