The Offbeat Sari

A major exhibition celebrating the contemporary sari. This exhibition unravels its numerous forms, demonstrating the sari to be a metaphor for the layered and complex definitions of India today. It brings together the finest saris of the time from designers, wearers and craftspeople in India.

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. People in cities who used to associate the sari with dressing up can now be found wearing saris and sneakers on their commutes to work. Individuals are wearing the sari as an expression of resistance to social norms and activists are embodying it as an object of protest.

Featuring more than 50 saris by India’s most renowned designers such Sabyasachi, Diksha Khanna, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, and Tarun Tahiliani; innovative garments by Anamika Khanna, Abraham and Thakore, Raw Mango and Rimzim Dadu; and the iconic hot-pink sari of the Gulabi Gang – a powerful symbol of resistance in India.

Presented exclusively in Victoria at Bunjil Place, The Offbeat Sari is a touring exhibition by the Design Museum, London. Conceived and curated by Priya Khanchandani.