By Nitin Pamnani, Co-founder, iTokri.com.
Every April, the same question lands in my inbox, my DMs, and across my shop counter: "What should I actually wear in this heat?" The question sounds simple. The answer is not. Because "cotton" is not one fabric, it is dozens of fabrics, woven in dozens of ways, across dozens of regions, each behaving differently against your skin at 44 degrees.
I have spent over a decade sourcing handwoven and hand-printed textiles from more than 500 craft clusters across India. I have touched thousands of fabrics in warehouse heat, watched how they move on a body walking through a Gwalior afternoon, and listened to weavers explain why their cloth breathes the way it does. What follows is everything I know about choosing the right summer fabric, not as marketing, but as someone who genuinely cares about this.
The problem with "just wear cotton"
Most summer dressing advice stops at "wear cotton." That is like saying "just eat vegetables" when someone asks about nutrition. Mill-produced cotton shirting at 40-count and a 120-count mulmul from Bengal are both cotton. One traps heat against your body. The other feels like wearing a breeze.
The difference is thread count, yarn quality, weave structure, and, most critically, whether the fabric was woven on a handloom or a power loom. Handloom fabrics have a natural irregularity in their weave that creates micro air pockets. Those pockets are what let your skin breathe. No machine can replicate that.
So when I walk you through summer fabrics, I am not comparing brand names. I am comparing how cloth is made, where it comes from, and what it does against your body when the mercury crosses 40.
Mulmul: the closest thing to wearing nothing
Mulmul, fine muslin, is historically the lightest fabric ever woven by human hands. The Dhaka muslins of Bengal were so fine that traders in 18th-century Europe called them "woven air." A full six-yard sari could pass through a finger ring.
Today's mulmul comes primarily from Bengal and parts of Rajasthan. It is cotton, but woven at extremely high thread counts, typically 80-count to 120-count, producing a fabric that is almost translucent. The hand-feel is papery when new, but after the first wash, it collapses into something impossibly soft. It drapes close to the body without clinging.
Best for: Kurtas, dupattas, saris, loungewear. Anything where you want to forget you are wearing clothes.
In the heat: Mulmul absorbs sweat rapidly and dries fast. It does not stick to the skin the way denser cotton does. In dry heat, Rajasthan, central India, northern plains, it is unbeatable.
Care: Hand wash cold or gentle machine cycle. Mulmul wrinkles easily and that is part of its character. Iron on low if you must, but the lived-in crumple looks intentional. Avoid wringing, the fine threads are delicate when wet.
Handloom cotton: the workhorse you underestimate
Not all cotton is created equal, and the gap between handloom cotton and mill cotton is wider than most people realize. Handloom cotton, whether it is a Sanganeri block-printed fabric from Sanganer near Jaipur, an Ajrakh-printed cloth from Kutch in Gujarat, or a Bagru-printed piece from the villages outside Jaipur, has a dry, crisp hand-feel that softens with every wash without losing structure.
The weave matters enormously. A loose-weave handloom cotton at 40-count or 60-count has visible texture. You can see light through it. It sits away from the body because of the stiffness of handspun or hand-processed yarn, creating a natural air gap between fabric and skin.
Best for: Daily wear kurtas, shirts, palazzo pants, work-appropriate clothing. Handloom cotton takes block printing and natural dyes beautifully, so this is where you get the most interesting surface design.
In the heat: The natural air pockets in handloom weave work like passive ventilation. Cotton absorbs moisture well, up to 27 times its weight in water, which means it handles sweat, but takes longer to dry than mulmul. In humid conditions, this is a consideration.
Care: Most handloom cottons get better with washing. First wash may release some starch or excess dye, that is normal with natural dyes and hand processing. Wash separately the first two times. Air dry in shade to protect color. These fabrics are built to last years.
Chanderi: when summer needs to look formal
Chanderi is woven in the medieval town of Chanderi in Madhya Pradesh, and it solves a specific problem: how do you dress for a formal occasion in peak summer without suffocating?
Chanderi fabric is a blend, traditionally silk and cotton, though pure cotton Chanderi also exists. It is sheer, lightweight, and has a subtle natural sheen from the silk content. The hallmark of Chanderi is the butti, small woven motifs of flowers, peacocks, or coins that appear to float on the surface of the fabric.
Pick up a Chanderi sari and it weighs almost nothing. It drapes with a fluidity that structured cotton cannot achieve. Against skin, it feels cool and smooth, the silk component gives it a surface slickness that cotton alone does not have.
Best for: Summer weddings, formal events, office wear that needs to look polished. Chanderi saris and dupattas are the answer when the dress code says elegant but the thermometer says 42.
In the heat: The silk-cotton blend makes Chanderi breathable but slightly less absorbent than pure cotton. It works well in dry heat. In humidity, pure cotton Chanderi is the better choice.
Care: Dry clean for silk-cotton blends. Pure cotton Chanderi can be hand washed gently. Store flat or loosely rolled, the sheer fabric snags easily on rough surfaces.
Linen: the outsider that earned its place
Linen is not an Indian fabric traditionally, it comes from flax, grown primarily in Europe. But it has become a genuine part of the Indian summer wardrobe, and for good reason. Linen has the highest moisture-wicking capacity of any natural fiber. It pulls sweat away from the body and releases it into the air faster than cotton, mulmul, or silk.
The hand-feel is distinctive: stiff, almost crunchy when new, with a coolness against the skin that you can literally feel the moment you put it on. That coolness is not psychological, linen is a natural thermal conductor, meaning it moves heat away from your body.
Best for: Trousers, structured shirts, blazers, dresses. Linen holds a silhouette in a way that mulmul and fine cotton cannot. If you need to look put-together in heat, linen is your answer.
In the heat: Superior to cotton in moisture management. Linen dries faster, cools more efficiently, and does not develop that damp, clingy feel. The trade-off is that it wrinkles aggressively, and those wrinkles are non-negotiable. They are the fabric's personality.
Care: Machine washable. Gets softer and more beautiful with every wash. Linen is one of the most durable natural fibers, it lasts for decades. Hang dry, and either embrace the wrinkles or iron while still slightly damp.
Khadi: the slow fabric
Khadi is hand-spun and hand-woven, every single meter of it. The yarn is spun on a charkha, then woven on a handloom. This gives khadi a texture that no other fabric has: slightly uneven, nubby, with a dry hand that somehow feels substantial and breathable at the same time.
Khadi cotton comes from across India, West Bengal, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, and each region produces a slightly different character based on the local cotton variety and spinning tradition. A fine khadi muslin from Bengal feels different from a coarser khadi from Gujarat, though both carry that unmistakable handmade texture.
Best for: Everyday wear that you want to feel grounded in. Kurtas, shirts, saris. Khadi takes natural dyes and hand printing well, and it has a matte, earthy quality that photographs beautifully.
In the heat: Khadi's irregular weave structure creates excellent air circulation. It absorbs sweat and releases it steadily. It does not cool as aggressively as linen, but it is more comfortable for all-day wear because of its softness against the skin.
Care: Hand wash or gentle machine cycle. Khadi shrinks slightly on the first wash, factor that in when buying. It softens dramatically after three or four washes. That softening is the reward for patience.
So which one do you actually buy?
The honest answer: it depends on your life.
If you work from home and want to feel comfortable all day, mulmul is your fabric. Light, forgiving, barely there.
If you go to an office and need structure, linen or a good-weight handloom cotton will serve you best. They hold shape, take prints well, and look intentional.
If you have summer weddings or formal events, Chanderi is the fabric that lets you look polished without overheating.
If you want one fabric that does almost everything reasonably well, handloom cotton at 60-count is the most versatile summer fabric in India. It takes block prints from Sanganeri or Ajrakh artisans beautifully, it works as a kurta or a sari, it breathes well in most conditions, and it lasts for years.
And if you want the fabric that feels the most like you made a deliberate choice, something with texture, weight, and quiet character, khadi is hard to beat.
Whatever you choose, choose handloom over power loom when you can. The difference isn't philosophical. It's physical. You'll feel it the moment you step outside.
Nitin Pamnani is the co-founder of iTokri.com, India's largest curated platform for handmade textiles and handicrafts, working with over 10,000 artisans across 500+ craft clusters. He is based in Gwalior and has spent over a decade sourcing and understanding Indian handloom and hand-printed textiles.
