Debarati Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; August 9, 2020)

In a first, more than 100 Indian fashion designers have come together to support the weaver and embroiderer communities across the country with a fundraiser project that began this week and will go on till August 15. Reputed designers like Sabyasachi, Tarun Tahiliani, Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, Manish Malhotra, Anamika Khanna, Rahul Mishra, Monisha Jaising and Masaba are among those who have donated their clothes for a sale online to raise money for their artisan brothers, their ‘baradari’, and to empower them to become entrepreneurs themselves. Kareena Kapoor Khan, who has been whole-heartedly supporting the project, talks to BT about how we need to support our karigars in these hard times and how sustainability in fashion is the need of the hour. Excerpts...

Kareena, what makes a fashion icon like you step up and talk about an initiative like this,which supports our karigars?
We are in unprecedented times, and millions of people have lost their livelihood. This initiative is not just about financially helping our karigars; we are also giving them the credit that they deserve, because generally, it’s the designer who is at the forefront. Indian karigars don’t get the recognition they deserve. No one really knows what goes on in the backend, how much time and energy they put into one sari, lehenga or choli.

Actors from our movie industry are seen wearing the most fashionable clothes and finest labels. How do you think they can support the fashion industry, which makes them look so glamorous on and off screen?
Fashion is all about sustainability now. It’s a global conversation, and people are becoming far more conscious. India has such beautiful handlooms, textiles and weavers, but I have always felt that there is a lot of pressure on actors to ape the West. Award function hai ya red carpet, gown pehenna zaroori hai... jiska sabse bada gown hoga, that will be the best outfit. That’s so not true. I love wearing saris, it’s our national outfit. When Vidya (Balan) decided to wear a sari at Cannes, that was such a beautiful choice. We should be proud of what we make in our country. Honestly, I do feel quite stupid wearing gowns to red-carpet events, but sometimes, we come under the pressure of stylists, who say that it is fab. We also wear clothes from big designers from New York and Paris. Hopefully, after this life-changing phase, we will support things that are homegrown.

There is huge pressure on actors to turn up in fabulous outfits every time they appear in public. What do you have to say about repeating clothes on the red carpet, at award shows, and other events?
That’s what I mean, either you fall under the pressure of ‘Oh! she’s worn this before and now she is repeating it’, or not. I think it is totally fine and a classic look should be repeated on the red carpet. I mean, an iconic look with a simple black dress or a black sari can never go wrong. You can style it in different ways. If you are buying an expensive Chanderi silk sari, why would you not want to repeat that? Now, you can wear saris also in different ways and it is quite cool to do that. Like I said, falling under the pressure of which designer label am I wearing on the red carpet, so and so is wearing this, and I should be one-up and get something from Paris — honestly, I find that very tiring. I completely believe in the idea of recycling clothes and wearing them again and again. Everything doesn’t have to have a price tag and be brand new.

There is a gap in what we pay the designer for a garment and what the karigar eventually gets for his skilled labour. How do you think we can support the karigars and mend the massive financial gap?
Yes, there is a huge gap. They probably get a few hundred rupees to do their jobs on it. They have to support their entire families with that. So, the focus of this initiative is to mend that gap, give them recognition and financial help, and bring about some level of equality. When a designer walks the ramp, he is doing that because he is displaying his craftsmanship. So, why not give the weaver, who has worked for hours on a lehenga, that kind of credit, too? Artisans should be empowered to become entrepreneurs like the designers.

Designer Tarun Tahiliani behind Priyanka Chopra's hot cover look in July issue of InStyle defends the "lack of blouse" after trolls squeal, where's the choli?
Shweta Shiware (MID-DAY; June 7, 2019)

Priyanka Chopra Jonas's head rests lightly on her bare shoulder, the drape of the saree caressing her waist. The photograph is accompanied by the cover line: "I want to change the world a little bit."

It's possibly the first time that two of India's powerhouse brands, Priyanka Chopra Jonas (PCJ) and the saree, have graced the cover of a global fashion bible.

US fashion magazine InStyle's July edition cover, out for an early preview, most thought was inspired and path-breaking until the outrage broke on social media. And at the centre of the chaos is the saree, of course.

More pointedly about the way the saree's "graceful decorum" has been disrupted, because it is worn without a blouse. Comments on PCJ's Insta account went nuts on Thursday, including this: Saree is completed with blouse (sic)… respect the attire pls; This is not Indian culture!; How are you changing the world by showing your bare back.

The designer behind the saree, Tarun Tahiliani, who crafted it in sequins, gota and Swarovski crystals, thinks it is yet another example of trial by social media.

"There's nothing vulgar about it. In fact, not using a choli makes it a global statement," he said, breaking into his trademark laugh. Bajirao Mastani was the last PCJ-starrer Tahiliani watched, and says, "The transition from alluring Indian beauty to this modern goddess for a mainstream fashion cover only speaks of her [Priyanka] versatility. She is truly a modern Indian icon".

PCJ, in the interview to the magazine, says sarees are a favourite. "My problem is when it comes to Indian fashion, there are always these shiny, sequinned, over-the-top Christmas-tree outfits. Those are not the sarees I wear. I grew up with my mother wearing sarees to the hospital, as a doctor. She'd wear these beautiful ones made of French chiffon, with a bindi over here. And the nape of her neck would smell like Dior's Poison. That, to me, was a modern woman. And that's what I want to show the world."

Ami Patel, the actor's stylist for her India appearances, says PCJ and the saree share a special relationship. "Personally, I can't drape a saree, but she can nail it down with just three safety pins. She comes into her own in a saree; whether a jamdani with a three quarter blouse like she wore to the Padma Shri Awards in 2016 (above; left), or this sexy one on the cover."

Ironically, the modest accompaniments that the champions of Indian culture are upholding — the blouse and petticoat — are in fact, British imports. Sabyasachi Mukherjee's ruffled saree worn by PCJ in a photo-spread on the inside pages of the said magazine, was also critiqued for "objectifying the dress". And again, the blouse, or the lack of it, was lamented: "This is just a bra with material wrapped around waist (sic)."

InStyle's editor-in-chief Laura Brown said it was in fact, PCJ who suggested they embrace Indian fashion in the shoot, and called her "un-self-conscious and a rare bird". Sometimes, fashion sets out to provoke. Sometimes, it provokes by accident. But clearly, the only worthy Insta comment on the issue came from Brown herself — #sareenotsorry.


PCJ in a ruffled Sabyasachi Mukherjee saree

Asira Tarannum (MID-DAY; March 24, 2015)

Kangana Ranuat had been approached to be the showstopper for designer Tarun Tahiliani at the just-concluded Lakmé Fashion Week Summer Resort 2015, but she had to turn it down as she is currently shooting in Delhi.

Regardless of her refusal, the organisers sent out messages to guests and the media that the actress would be a part of the show, say sources. “A few designers had requested her to walk the ramp for them, but she had expressed her inability to do so. However, the organisers mentioned her name as Tahiliani’s showstopper. So when Chitrangda Singh walked the ramp for him on Sunday, it took the onlookers by surprise,” adds a source.

A member of the organising team insisted that a list of celebrities they had received from various agencies had Kangna’s name as part of Tahiliani’s show. “The showstoppers often change at the last minute depending on their availability. So we retain all the suggested names of celebrities in the list of our shows. We found out at the last minute that she wouldn’t be able to make it,” says the member on condition of anonymity.

The actress’ spokesperson maintains she did not accept any offer to walk the ramp due to her packed shoot schedule. “It was unfair to put her name in the list when she had clearly mentioned her unavailability,” the spokesperson says.