Simplifying the sari again

There are purists and there are radicals. The former have presented the sari in its original humble and democratic form, while the latter have mutated the classic silhouette and come up with its ultra modern styles. However, what's always been exciting about the unstitched, untouched yardage is its universal, size-less appeal - embracing waistlines from 20 to 48. While the soul of the sari is composed of three main identities- inner drapes, pleats and the pallu, the push on construction have often taken away from its wearable appeal.

"The whole language of the sari is comfort, ease," shares designer Anavila Misra. 

At Good Earth, After Hrs soaked in an enlightening discussion between the sari conservationists (Anavila, Akaaro, Eka and Raw Mango) and Malika Verma Kashyap of digital publication Border & Fall. Here's an excerpt from the curated conversations...

First sari memory

Designer Anavila recalls that when her family moved to Patna, she started seeing saris all around her and she was amazed by the comfort it offered women. "The wearer seemed so comfortable. I have seen them even sleep in saris. Then I moved to West Bengal and would observe artisans and weavers and their incredible interpretations. What struck me most was women being so mobile and comfortable and actually looking so fashionable," says she.   

However, designer Garuav Jai Gupta of label Akaaro never really noticed saris for a very long time. "I am a trained weaver. Sari never got my interest. For me, it's a special product but I am more interested in textiles," he says. 

Designer Sanjay Garg of label Raw Mango recalls, "It reminds me of the freedom movement, how women wore it and marched on the streets. I remember when my mother gave birth to my sister, she wore a red sari. I cannot forget that. Another distinctive memory is of the iconic Raja Ravi Rao Verma's paintings with asharfi coin motif all over."

Designer Rina Singh, who hails from a Rajput household, was used to seeing women wear saris everyday. She reminisces, "They wear saris with gotas. Honestly, it never inspired me and I didn't want to be that woman.

Growing up, once in a while, I would borrow my mother's sari for occasions. Of course, there was Sridevi's blue sari in Mr India, which everybody remembers but I could never wear it like that. One of my earliest childhood memories was of my nani in a white dhoti with a blue border."

My first linen sari

Sanjay was exploring minimalism and questioning why is an Indian woman always so dressed up - with jewellery etc and why are there patterns everywhere? Garg was a graphic designer earlier and later worked on a collection comprising tones of beige, white, charcoal grey, turquoise grey and pink. "I simplified and edited the vocabulary," says he with a hint of pride.  

Back in the day, designer Anavila felt fatigued and didn't enjoy what she was doing and then started thinking about what she wanted to wear at that point in time. "That's when my experimentation with linen started. The first sari which was a raw linen colour - when it came from the weaver, it had a deep brown border and a two inches white patti. That was the first product, which engaged me and I have been working with that yarn for the last five to six years," she recalls with a twinkle in her eye.  

Size-less purity

Designer Rina Singh of label Eka says, "It's a basic pure textile and it's something which is not cut and you could make anything out of it. I don't want to say that a 32-waist size is small or extra small and a 34-waist woman is medium. I don't want to define women forms like that. How do you define it? Do you give it a pallu or should it be worn it with a blouse separately? How is it worn has a lot to do with the DNA of the brand?"

Rina loved the idea that sari has never been size-oriented. "You could wear it pyjamas or churidaars but nevertheless, I was giving it a form." Of late, she's experimented with a panoply of checks and stripes formations.

Sari is like music

Gaurav recalls his initial struggle with the classic. "I didn't want to do anything which already existed. Our story is not fashion but crafts and textiles. Creation is when you really start from the scratch. Sari is like music, it's so evolved. It's like someone comes to you and asks, 'Can you make a new raag?' The whole fusion didn't really make sense to me. The whole idea of the fabric and how it falls so we did engineered pieces," says the designer who weaves everything in studio.