KATHMANDU, Nov 12: The Khadi Nepal Fashion Event was held on Friday at Embassy of India, Lainchaur wherein Khadi and other hand woven eco-friendly products from Nepal and India were showcased. 

Ambassador of India to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri attended the event as chief guest along with Dr Shashanka Koirala, secretary general of South Asia Foundation, Rahul Baruwa, project director at South Asia Foundation, Urusha Shrestha and other distinguished guests.

The event was organized in joint collaboration of Embassy of India and South Asia Foundation in organizing India-Nepal Folk Craft Festival.  The festival was supported by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India, Council of Handicrafts Development Corporation (COHAND) and the BP Koirala India-Nepal Foundation along with leading Indian as well as Nepali designers.

Expressing his gratitude, Ambassador Puri said, “We are delighted to attend this event as khadi has become a household name worldwide and people have are finding new ways of bringing this tradition to the world in many ways.”

The fashion event was emceed by TV presenter of M&S video magazine, Osin Sitaula. It began with the showcasing of myriad collection of designs from leading Nepali as well as Indian designers, including the ensembles of Sabah Nepal, Kallista, Payal Jain and Sumnima Bastola. 

Renowned Indian and Nepali fashion models walked the ramp flaunting khadi attires and other designer wears. The show stoppers for the event were Miss Nepal 2016 Asmi Shrestha, Miss Nepal 2015 Evana Manandhar, top models Astha Pokharel and Oshima Banu, and Indian Lawyer as well as first runner up of Femina Miss India 2017, Sana Dua.

The event also included a small exhibition of handicraft products at the Embassy premises.  As part of the festival, 50 artisans and craft persons from India including 20 scheduled artisans as well as 30 artisans from Nepal showcased their products at Bhrikuti Mandap over five days which concluded on Saturday.  

The exhibition aimed at providing a sound platform to the artisans to promote the local crafts from different parts of India and Nepal.

The fashion event played a crucial role in promoting the brand image of Khadi. Both, India-Nepal Craft Festival and the Kathmandu Fashion Event were celebrated under the aegis of “70 years of India’s Independence” and were successful in reaching out to the Nepali public, Nepali dignitaries as well as international community living in Nepal.