Sabyasachi apologises for 'saree' remark: 'Some consumers are being conditioned to believe that it ages women'

After receiving a lot of pushback for his comments on the inability of some Indian women to drape a saree, ace designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee has issued an apology. On being asked about the difficulties of draping a saree at the Harvard India Conference, he said the “I think, if you tell me that you do not know how to wear a saree, I would say shame on you. It’s a part of your culture, (you) need to stand up for it.” [caption id=“attachment_4349221” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Image from Twitter/@htlifeandstyle[/caption] His comments sparked off a huge debate about whether shame should be associated with not knowing how to wear a garment, given how little freedom women have in our society. Men and women expressed their outrage with his statement, terming it misogynist and feudal. The designer has addressed all these concerns in an elaborate apology which he posted on his Instagram page. He says, as someone who has worked with the saree for years, the stigma around the garment stresses him out. Having to deal with all the negativity that surrounds the garment had resulted in a lot of pent up frustration in the designer, which he claims came out in the wrong way during the talk. He apologises for the usage of the word ‘shame’ and says that his intent was to call out women who judge other women for wearing sarees, immediately deeming them regressive. The designer, who recently dresses Anushka Sharma for her wedding functions, says “Body shaming, attaching connotations of ‘Auntie Ji’, calling them sloppy; these are all ways that some men and women alike belittle the sari (and, more accurately, the wearer of the sari). These comments are laced with sarcasm and connotations of cultural repression and backwardness.”

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