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

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.”
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."
Let’s also talk about another subject that has arisen out of the fervent discussions occurring about me and my brand, and one that has always been a big topic on gender inequality and the patriarchy (which, according to some of you, I am ardently supporting): the pay gap. It is humiliating to have to defend yourself in public but sometimes a bitter medicine needs to be swallowed to drive home a hidden truth. I would like to bring to your notice, that the majority of my staff at Sabyasachi Couture are women. From pattern makers, to seamstresses, to designers, to publicists, to IT consultants, department heads, store managers, and core of management; women comprise the top earners on my payroll – and it is not because they are women, but because they’ve earned it by their merit. And every Friday, men and women alike at Sabyasachi wear Indian clothing to celebrate our love for textiles, with zero enforcement. Mine is a women-oriented brand and I owe my complete success to them. I have always, and will continue to love and respect women irrespective of the labels recently assigned to me. It was in this spirit that I started my brand, and that is how it shall remain till the day we decide to shut its doors. I once again apologise for the distress caused by the words I used, but not for the intent, which often takes a back seat when slammed by controversy. My intent was to call out those women who proudly proclaim that they don’t wear saris and simultaneously shame others who wear saris by saying it makes them look older, backward, or culturally repressed. My social media team takes extreme care that not a single negative comment written by you is censored, so that the world can make their own judgments and have a transparent view of the brand. Tomorrow, you can shame me further on twitter, make provocative headlines out of this letter, or choose to blacklist us as consumers. It is absolutely fair and understandable because it is your prerogative. For us, for better or for worse, it will be business as usual. #Sabyasachi #TheWorldOfSabyasachi A post shared by Sabyasachi Mukherjee (@sabyasachiofficial) on
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