{"id":571049,"date":"2026-03-29T01:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-29T01:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/571049\/"},"modified":"2026-03-29T01:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-29T01:05:14","slug":"the-offbeat-sari-challenges-cliches-made-about-the-traditional-and-uncomfortable-sari","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/571049\/","title":{"rendered":"The Offbeat Sari challenges cliches made about the ‘traditional’ and ‘uncomfortable’ sari"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Priya Khanchandani first walked into London’s Design Museum in 2020, proposal in hand, she wasn’t simply pitching an exhibition.<\/p>\n

She was proposing a reframing of one of South Asia’s oldest garments \u2014 the sari.<\/p>\n

Khanchandani, the museum’s head of curatorial at the time, wanted to show how the 5,000-year-old garment has been reinvented, and reshape how it is understood and worn.<\/p>\n

Growing up in a London family, Khanchandani says she found herself being part of a diaspora in the UK that didn’t know much about the sari, other than that “it might be worn by somebody’s grandma”.<\/p>\n

But what was once dismissed as old-fashioned has become a powerful symbol of reclaimed heritage and social change, she says.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Offbeat Sari, as Priya defines it, is a mode of individual expression and a countercultural statement. (Supplied: Articulate Advisory)<\/p>\n

Worn as an everyday garment by some and considered by others to be formal or uncomfortable, the sari has multiple definitions.<\/p>\n

Conventionally an unstitched drape wrapped around the body, which can be styled in a variety of ways, its unfixed form has enabled it to morph and absorb changing cultural influences.<\/p>\n

But in recent years, the sari has been reinvented. Designers are experimenting with hybrid forms such as sari gowns and dresses, pre-draped saris and innovative materials such as steel.<\/p>\n

While living in Delhi for a year, Khanchandani observed women wearing saris in the busy streets, boutiques and designer pop-ups.<\/p>\n

“The saris they wore defied convention,” she says.<\/p>\n

“They were bold and free-flowing, sometimes worn over T-shirts and even with sneakers.<\/p>\n

\"Attendees<\/p>\n

The exhibition features 54 saris by some of India’s leading designers. (ABC News: Angelica Silva)<\/p>\n

“I decided audiences around the world needed to see this story. I think having been a journalist, I saw the sari through the lens of storytelling.”<\/p>\n

Pioneering fashion<\/p>\n

The exhibition was initially produced by London’s Design Museum in 2023. Now, it has made its Australian debut at Melbourne’s Bunjil Place Gallery.<\/p>\n

It brings together 54 saris by India’s most renowned designers, such as red-carpet designs by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Tarun Tahiliani and Anamika Khanna, including versions worn by Lady Gaga and Deepika Padukone.<\/p>\n

Also featured are innovative garments from contemporary Indian designers such as Raw Mango, Rimzim Dadu, NorBlack NorWhite and Akaaro by Gaurav Jai Gupta.<\/p>\n

“Many of these brands, I think, pioneered the sari for the modern, intellectual woman,” Khanchandani says.<\/p>\n

The exhibition unfolds across three sections.<\/p>\n

The first, Transformations, shows the experimental approaches to drape and silhouette, from a sari made of sequins cut from hospital X-ray film to one made entirely out of recycled bottles.<\/p>\n

\"Multiple<\/p>\n

The exhibition features an X-ray sequinned\u202fsari by Abraham & Thakore. (Supplied: Andy Stagg)<\/p>\n

The second, Identity and Resistance, shows designers experimenting with unconventional materials, embedding messages about pollution, conservation, sustainability and social change into yards of fabric.<\/p>\n

One sari featured in this section, Khanchandani says, is worn by a group of rural women in the Indian state of Assam who are raising awareness for an endangered species of bird, the hargila.<\/p>\n

“They’ve embroidered it onto the border of their saris. And they’ve also made this papier-mache headpiece that they wear with it.” she says.<\/p>\n

“The sari has become not just clothing, but social commentary.”<\/p>\n

Another stand-out is the pink sari worn by the Gulabi Gang, a prominent Indian women’s movement founded by activist Sampat Pal Devi, fighting corruption, child marriage, and advocating for victims of domestic abuse.<\/p>\n

Known for wielding bamboo sticks in their bright pink saris, they work mostly in rural north India, engaging in non-violent protests and active intervention to protect women.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Gulabi Gang is a powerful women’s movement formed in 2006 by Indian social activist, Sampat Pal Devi. (Supplied: Joerg Boethling)<\/p>\n

Lastly, New Materialities showcases how far the sari has come in textile innovation, from ultra-fine stainless-steel saris to unusual pairings of cold hard metal and fluid silk.<\/p>\n

Strong style for strong women<\/p>\n

For Khanchandani, each sari featured in the exhibition dispels a common myth: that the sari is associated with female passivity and uncomfortableness.<\/p>\n

“When actually, the sari has been, and was always, worn by women doing things like fishing, by labouring, housework, even sports like cricket,” she says.<\/p>\n

“It wasn’t just something worn by wealthy women going to parties, and I think reviving that true spirit of the sari is so important.”<\/p>\n

\"Three<\/p>\n

Priya Khanchandani says she wants to dispel the myth saris are uncomfortable and only worn at parties. (ABC News: Angelica Silva)<\/p>\n

For some members of the South Asian diaspora, exhibitions like The Offbeat Sari are doing something deceptively rare.<\/p>\n

It’s taken South Asian clothing that has often been flattened into cliches of “traditional”, “ethnic” and “exotic”, and completely reframed it as the centre of global artistic conversation.<\/p>\n

“South Asian wear and Indian attire was not embraced while I was growing up,” said Daizy Maan, Co-Founder of Australian South Asian Centre (ASAC).<\/p>\n

“We hid away from it for so long,” the Punjabi Australian, who worked with Bujil Place’s community engagement team, says.<\/p>\n

\"Daizy<\/p>\n

Growing up, Daizy wanted to hide her Indian identity by not wearing traditional clothing out in public.\u00a0 (ABC News: Angelica Silva)<\/p>\n

She adds that exhibitions like The Offbeat Sari put South Asian fashion and history centre stage inside legitimate spaces like museums.<\/p>\n

“It’s phenomenal to see something as beautiful as the sari be celebrated by people from all different backgrounds,” she says.<\/p>\n

“I don’t remember the last time I saw an exhibition focused on South Asia, bringing together so many people in Australia.”<\/p>\n

The Offbeat Sari is now showing at Bunjil Place, Narre Warren until August 30.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Priya Khanchandani first walked into London’s Design Museum in 2020, proposal in hand, she wasn’t simply pitching…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571050,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,280431,280440,134,280439,280436,280435,280438,647,21815,208398,280437,280432,92802,280433,280434,280430],"class_list":["post-571049","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bunjil-place-gallery","tag-daizy-maan","tag-entertainment","tag-gulabi-gang","tag-indian-clothing","tag-indian-fashion","tag-london-design-museum","tag-melbourne","tag-museum","tag-narre-warren","tag-priya-khanchandani","tag-sari","tag-south-asia","tag-south-asian","tag-south-asian-fashion","tag-the-offbeat-sari-exhibition"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571049","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571049"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571049\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571050"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571049"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571049"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571049"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}