Six Yard Splendour

Even as the flagship store at Lion Gate,Mumbai,currently showcases “Sartorial Sari”,a collection of handcrafted saris,featuring works of Raw Mango,PotliArts and Vidhi Singhania,Tahiliani talks about the transition in her,and resultantly,Ensemble’s thought process. “I’ve personally been very committed to the sari because I think it’s a very glamorous and versatile garment. It is six yards of cloth and you can drape it in 50 different ways,depending on what part of the country you come from. It’s mind-boggling how we have developed our legacy of drapes,” says Tahiliani,who,after previously extending support to Tushar Kumar and his endeavour to revive the Banarasi sari and Srila Devi’s efforts to save West Bengal’s Shantipur weaves,began dedicatedly stocking woven saris around two years ago.

A preview of Sanjay Garg’s Raw Mango range of Banarasis and chanderis last year further reinforced her convictions. “The response was mind-blowing. It gave me faith that people still believe in the sari. It wasn’t just grandmothers buying them. A lot of young women were buying them too as an important part of their trousseau,” says Tahiliani.

The current showcase sees Garg present a new collection called “Berang”,exhibiting a resist-dyeing technique of Akola,with the primary colours being indigo,grey,black and white. Joining him is PotliArts,whose founder and textile historian Rta Kapur Chisti (author of Saris of India) is displaying luxury khadi saris,lightweight Kanchipurams,Kerala saris,cotton Paithanis,Shantiniketan batik saris and Banarasi weaves as part of her collection titled “Qalb”. The illustrious line-up also includes Vidhi Singhania’s Kota saris in bright jewel tones,with motifs such as parrots,elephants,ferns and water lilies. “It’s our way of being proud of being Indian and the craft our country has to offer,” says Tahiliani.

The fact that the Indian fashion industry is going through a handloom renaissance has only helped in the endeavour. “It’s been a lucky coincidence for us. We started supporting something that has been garnering national interest. I want women to believe that the sari is not just a ceremonial attire; I want them to make it a bigger part of their lives,” says Tahiliani,who hopes to do two sari previews annually,dedicated entirely to handcrafted weaves. “I’ve inherited the most gorgeous saris. But now I’m buying these and building my own collection so that I can pass it on to my daughter and my daughter-in-law to-be,” she says.