Saree, not sorry

A contemporary brand is promising to bring back sarees into everyday rotation, with their innovative designs and by using an all-new nature-based breathable fabric. Here’s what we thought about their claims

For most women in the city, a typical weekday includes a lengthy commute via public transport, several hours at the workplace, a few errands, and (as the week draws to a close) some light socialising in the evenings. With so much to accomplish, mobility and comfort become primary considerations when it comes to wardrobe choices, with more practical and easier-to-wear garments such as pants and dresses taking precedence over sarees, which must be painstakingly draped to achieve a well-groomed and polished look.

So, when a platform claims to have revolutionised the saree with the introduction of a lighter, breathable fabric and contemporary designs, we instantly take notice — while we do enjoy wearing sarees, the longer prep time involved has us saving them for those days when we really want to make an effort or have a special event to attend. The fabric in question is called liva, which is naturally sourced and designed for soft, fluidic drapes, while the brand Navyasa features bold, colourful and modernistic designs to appeal to contemporary sensibilities. These sarees are priced between Rs 5,000 and Rs 15,000, making them an expensive pick for daily wear. 

Deepika Padukone, who launched the brand, sporting a saree in another design

The saree we received had an interesting, abstract blue-to-red pattern over a white background. As promised, the fabric was silk-like, and had a slight sheen, adding to the saree’s visual appeal. The downside, however, was that the slinky texture made the saree very difficult to drape by ourselves. It took us close to an hour and four tries to achieve a somewhat satisfactory result. The saree is also relatively long and the fabric, while light, is thicker than the mul and cotton weaves we are accustomed to. Put together, these add a fair bit of bulk. If you, like us, wear it over a knotted underskirt, you’ll find that it tends to weigh the underskirt down — we found ourselves hoisting the saree up on more than a few occasions.

What also disconcerted us was that no matter how many safety pins we affixed to the drape, the saree kept shifting and had to be readjusted multiple times. While we can attribute this, in part, to our amateur draping skills, we also think that for a brand that intends to sell sarees to women like us, this factor should have been considered. The fabric also creased easily as the day wore on and, when combined with the clumsy-appearing drape, made the overall look unappealing. 

While the saree earned us compliments at the workplace, and the fabric was surprisingly comfortable when worn during a searing heat wave, we did not enjoy the overall experience and would not recommend it for everyday use. We believe it would fare much better if worn over shape wear-style underskirts and draped by a professional. 

At: Inorbit Mall, Malad West

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