If the six-yard struggle to drape, pleat, pin and tuck is all too familiar, but you still adore the silhouette of a sari, then Payal Khandwala’s new collection might have just the solution for you. What caught our eye in her Autumn-Winter 2017 lookbook, titled Indessential, was her personal favourite too, The Little Sari. A shortened, lighter version of the sari, styled over anything from jeans to culottes, and teamed with blazers, crop tops and shirts, this could possibly be the answer to the working girl’s desk-to-dinner dilemmas.
This is her attempt to redefine Indian essentials, says Khandwala of her new collection. “This is how I envision the sari would be, minus the recall value,” she explains, adding that like always, she has attempted to create clothes that she would like to wear herself. Sabyasachi Mukherjee probably doesn’t wear those embroidered floral sherwanis he designs, and no one has reported having spotted Manish Malhotra in even half the number of sequins he’s put on one of his creations, but with Khandwala, her aesthetic is relatable because she’s wearing the same pieces you see on that hanger.
And that’s her secret, as she’ll happily admit.
“The little sari is half the length - and hence half the commitment - for people who are not sari-wearers especially. The pleating and the folds can all be a little intimidating,” she laughs. Amidst all the sari-mania going on, it’s interesting to hear someone finally admit that it is, despite its obvious beauty, rather daunting to drape — and offer a solution.
“This possibly makes it lighter and fun, for the younger generation that’s on the go, and happy to stick a pair of jeans under their sari, unafraid to push the boundaries a little bit. This has become my go-to outfit,” she admits.
Inspired by the oil paintings of artist Barnett Newman, the collection harks back to Khandwala’s favoured colour blocking aesthetic in jewel tones, and the use of thick and thin lines to distract the eye. Saris handwoven in West Bengal with a mix of silk, twill and linen, are teamed with collared silk shirts and tops from her existing collections.
“The idea was to do a collection that was unpredictable, in the sense that it didn’t have to look like the sari. It doesn’t have to be draped in a terribly funky way to look different, it doesn’t have to be styled with a specific suit or anything. We’ve simply teamed it with separates that we have shown before, and are probably existing in the average woman’s wardrobe, like shirts, jackets, and trousers,” she elaborates.
This is first set of three collections of Indian essentials that Khandwala has planned, she says, the other two being a wedding wear and a pret collection. If her interpretation of the sari has us walking with ease, we wonder what she’ll do next with her version of traditional wear?
Saris are priced between ₹16,000 and ₹24,000 and Little Saris from ₹10,000-₹13,000. Available at select stores and at ogaan.com.