Saree, a Designer Outfit Now

chillibreeze writer — Shanti Bhimavarapu

Someone called it six yards of seduction; I would call it six yards of grace and feminism. Whatever one calls it, it’s a six yards the fashion world cannot overlook anymore.

My grandmother’s black and white wedding pictures show her in a kanjeevaram saree with a puffed and embroidered blouse. This was in the early 1900 or so when she was maybe all of 18. Later, she continued with her fancy blouses, pairing them with sarees that were worn like the dhoti with a ‘pallu’. I can never forget how graceful and traditional she used to look, with her ‘pallu’ pulled over her right shoulder and the borders draped in such a way that they circled her ankles. She was straight out of a Raja Ravi Varma painting making a style statement.

Who can forget the flowing flowery French chiffons of the late Maharani Gayatri Devi or the crepe de chine that actress Rekha wore in the movie ‘Silsila’. Sonia Gandhi’s crisp cottons and Hema Malini’s kanjeevarams are elegance personified.

Gradually, the saree as a regular day to day garment for the younger generation was replaced by the salwar kameez, kurtas, kurtis, slacks, jeans and t- shirts. Understandably so, considering they are easier to maintain, more comfortable and also convenient, allowing freedom of movement. The same younger generation, however, chooses the ‘ghagra-choli’ and saree for festivities and other special occasions.

The saree surfaced once again recently with a bang and its evolution has been remarkable. It is now a designer’s delight. Young and old alike, everyone wants something unique for a special occasion – and their best bet is to opt for a saree. One can see women adorned in sarees in the most beautiful shades and hues at most social gatherings. Bold, vibrant, soft or feminine, each sari is unique. The boutiques are vying with each other to design that exclusive saree and women are willing to spend hours in the boutiques to find that special piece. Every day the boutiques come up with new fabrics and new designs. Each saree has a concept. Its fabric, design, the embroidery work, the look, and the blouse everything is in keeping with a concept. The textile industry never had it so good in India. With a wide range of fabrics easily available, the designers can explore and experiment to their hearts content. You have the same six yards but with many a permutation.

The pleats could be the finest silk from Benaras and the ‘pallu’ could be an Italian crepe or French chiffon embroidered by the best craftsmen from all over India. The ‘pallu’ is draped in a hundred different ways. The blouses are so beautiful that the saree is incomplete as an outfit without the correct blouse. The finest of silks and satins from Benaras, Kashmir, Chanderi, Maheshwari, Kanchi team with hand embroidery and lace works from Kashmir, Lucknow, Kutch, Punjab, Hyderabad and Bhopal to create the wonderful outfit called the saree. The best dyes and colors are used to create the rich silks, satins, chiffons and crepes.

A designer from LA says that he loves the fluidity and fluency of the saree and that when a woman wears a saree she not only adorns her body but also her soul.

Designer Satya Paul designed a saree inspired by Google. The fabric is georgette jacquard and it is a printed saree. The saree showcases the google search page. Even Shobha De launched a saree collection recognizing the market potential in India. Though he claims to not follow Indian fashion or other designers, Italian designer Valentino says India should not fall prey to a global Euro-centric fashion, like Japan and China have. ‘‘I consider the sari deeply elegant—it is one of the most grounding elements of what haute couture is all about,’’ he adds. ‘‘In India, modernity and tradition can find a fine balance without erasing a unique heritage. Homogeneity is never a good thing”

Where once upon a time the saree was readied at the weavers loom, now it is in the hands of the designer that it gets the finishing touches. Here it would be appropriate to mention designers Manish Malhotra, Ritu Kumar, Tarun Tahiliani ,Sabyasachi, to name a few, who introduced the designer saree through their film costumes. Even with the advent of the jeans and trousers into our daily life, the saree survived and emerged a winner with its position uplifted to that of a designer outfit now.

Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in February, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.

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—About our writer:

Shanti,

She is a post graduate in commerce handling accounts and administrative matters for her husband’s clinic who is a practising nephrologist. Shes also done basic computer courses. Writing always has been her interest since her schooling days. Short write ups for various websites, letters to the editors of newspapers and magazines like outlook on topics of general interest and short stories with humor/ satire are her fortes.

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