A recent news report said the sari is no longer the outfit of choice during placement interviews at Indian B schools, with Western formalwear finding far more takers among young women on campus. This “shedding” of the sari may seem like a liberal development, but a far more inclusive and interesting adoption of Western aesthetics was the one that took place during the 1920s and 30s — with the sari at its centre. It was the time when women from the prominent royal families of India were hailed as style icons by European society, for the way they revolutionised the traditional nine-yard drape.
The subject has been dwelt on in some detail in Saris: Splendour in Threads, a new book by Soha Parekh. Soha writes of the metamorphosis of maharanis like Sita Devi of Kapurthala, Indira Devi of Cooch Behar and her daughter, Gayatri Devi of Jaipur into Europe’s high society darlings. “As the Indian royal classes began travelling extensively to Europe in the 1920s and 30s, they discovered that they were regarded with great interest,” says Soha. “They became celebrities for the saris they wore, the rich silks and jewellery lending a special edge to their glamour.”
This meeting of the East and West produced some inspiring fashion: Each maharani developed an individualised style of wearing the sari. “Rani Sita Devi was considered the epitome of fashion for the way she teamed her saris with fur coats when abroad,” Soha says.
Other Western influences soon became evident in the sari, with chiffon emerging as the fabric of choice among the royal set. “Chiffon was something the maharanis enjoyed wearing. They were exposed to it during their sojourns in the West, and they found the fabric cool to wear in the hot climate of North India,” says Soha. Fashion houses in Paris would send samples of French silk chiffon to the maharanis in India, in the hope of receiving plentiful orders. The fabric was made popular by Maharani Indira Devi and her daughter Gayatri Devi. “Indira Devi became a widow at a young age. But instead of wearing a regular white sari, she took to wearing shimmering white chiffons, with a trailing pallu,” Soha says. Gayatri Devi offset her chiffons with lustrous pearls, a combination in which she has been photographed time and again. Later, chiffon was worked with elaborate embroideries and borders and paired with waistcoat and embellished blouses by the maharanis.
Today, the sari’s royal legacy is being carried forward by Maharani Shubhanginiraje Gaekwad and her daughter-in-law Radhikaraje Gaekwad. With a collection of exquisite Chanderis dating back to the 1920s added to by her own trousseau from the 60s, Maharani Shubhanginiraje is now trying to revive traditional Chanderis with the use of old motifs and colours—an initiative Radhikaraje is aiding her in. Soha says, “Radhikaraje is a young woman, with two small children, and she wears the sari with so much elegance!”