The Design Museum in London is set to host a landmark exhibition titled 'The Offbeat Sari', featuring over 90 saris that highlight the garment's contemporary transformation. The show includes the first sari ever worn to the Met Gala, designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee and worn by Natasha Poonawalla in 2022, marking its UK debut.
Traditionally a single piece of unstitched fabric, the sari has long been a symbol of identity and social status in South Asia. However, the exhibition explores how designers and wearers are reimagining it as a modern expression of individuality and resistance, moving beyond its conventional associations with formality and discomfort.
Highlights include couture pieces such as Tarun Tahiliani's foil jersey sari for Lady Gaga and Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla's ruffled design worn by Deepika Padukone at Cannes. The exhibition also features street styles from Indian cities, demonstrating how young urban women are embracing the sari as everyday attire.
Curator Priya Khanchandani described the sari's evolution as 'conceivably its most rapid reinvention in its 5,000-year history', positioning it as a key global fashion story. The exhibition runs from 19 May to 17 September 2023.
