Once dismissed as everyday cloth and later embraced by Ivy League campuses, Madras checks have travelled from the Coromandel coast to fashion capitals around the world. Today, designers are rediscovering the vibrant cotton textile, even as the handloom communities that weave it fight to survive Once dismissed as everyday cloth and later embraced by Ivy League campuses, Madras checks have travelled from the Coromandel coast to fashion capitals around the world. Today, designers are rediscovering the vibrant cotton textile, even as the handloom communities that weave it fight to survive