At ORIGINAL MADRAS TRADING COMPANY we are hand weavers & makers.  We only work with handloom cloths and make everything in-house. Hand weaving single weaver cloths is at the core of our brand.  Our project is all about weaving by hand and preserving, developing, innovating and promoting the craft of Indian handloom and the related skills surrounding it.  Although our family business has always had handlooms their number had dwindled, but in just the past few seasons we have grown from three looms to over 50 looms. 

Original Madras Trading Company is a family business with a checkered past. My grandfather established the company when he arrived in New York City in the early 1970’s with a trunk full of Madras checks. Over time he established our office on 38th Street in the garment district with views of the Empire State Building. Today we still trade from those same offices and continue to supply many of the most renowned names in American clothing. While continuing our business of making and supplying both fabrics and garments from southern India to brands around the world through our New York office, we have initiated a unique project making a range of clothing using exclusively hand woven cloth. True to the spirit of my grandfather, our handloom project is a way to remind people of the rich origin story of Madras cloth and its profound ties to both the American and Indian societies and their two tremendously distinct and yet interwoven cultures.