Exclusive: Bride accuses brand of fat shaming, Tarun Tahiliani shares his side of the story

According to social media influencer Tanaya Mahendra, her post where she blamed designer Tarun Tahiliani's brand for body-shaming her when she went for her wedding shopping wasn't intended to blame the designer brand. It was to talk about body shaming that brides experience in general instead. But this did lead to a war of words between the doctor and the couturier.

E Times, Times of India spoke to couturier Tarun Tahiliani and he had a different side to the story. "Our industry has taken a major hit due to the pandemic and some sizes are not sometimes not available at our store. We have clearly told our store people to be honest with our customers. You will not sell them things that will not look good on them. If you can't do it, tell them, don't take the orders because you are trying to meet a target and then tomorrow you let people down, it is not cool. If someone thinks that it is fat-shaming, then I would like to tell them that we are a service industry and not therapists," he said.

The designer has been known for celebrating body positivity and has shot with women of various body types. "I have always celebrated diversity. I have shot with different women with different body types over the years. We have designed clothes for specially abled people, done gay weddings. As a brand, we have always promoted inclusivity. So if I and my brand are being accused of fat-shaming someone, I have no words left," he added.
Sharing another incident, the designer said, "We are a service industry and we are here to provide solutions for people. When Simone Tata's granddaughter got married, Simone came to us in a wheelchair, she couldn't even stand. We went out of our way to make sure she was comfortable and looked lovely obviously. It is our job as couturiers to make sure that we cater to the need of our clients and provide them with the best possible solution. Our team has been sensitized to deal properly with our clients and make them feel welcome."


Tarun Tahiliani's team also issued a clarification later on their Instagram handle, which again didn't go down well with Tanaya Narendra. She shared the designer's post on her Instagram story and wrote, "Very convenient disregard of my experience without hearing it from me in what way I felt body shamed. I didn't feel unwelcome because of the time issue. I was never made aware of that. It was the way their salesperson looked at me up and down and asked, "oh, 'you' are getting married?" as if I am inherently unmarriageable. It was the way they kept saying "we don't have this in 'your size'." It was the general disinterest in showing me around. It was the way that, as they led me out of the store, the salesperson said 'maybe this outfit would make you look more... in shape.' These were the things that made me feel unwelcome, shamed and unfairly commented on."

The designer was also offended by the continuous use of the F-word which she used while sharing her experience on social media. "Even if things might have happened, it is their (store people) words against hers. But there is always a way to express your displeasure. The kind of language she used while sharing her thoughts on social media with the continuous use of the F-word was downright tacky." he added.