The Art Of Revival

While their bodies of work split from the conventional, these two design virtuosos can undoubtedly be deemed as true savants on matters of the six yards, as they play agents of change and craft fresh identities

- Tanya Mehta

Revival’ is a relative term. In the most apparent context, the sari has never really evaded our sight, it’s quite literally the uniform of the everyday Indian woman, the inescapable piece of clothing worn by school teachers, politicians and celebrities alike, with the perceptibility to blow up your Instagram feed.

Yet, there lies a peculiar disparity, one between the existing chintz of a wedding sari and the almost pallid nature of a daily drape. Raw Mango’s Sanjay Garg and Rahul Mishra have grown from humble beginnings, but they are the new age pioneers who have enlivened fading traditions and established a cult status through their labels. We speak to the two celebrated designers as they shed light on their journeys, the future and their personal love affair with the sari.

A quiet place

Sanjay Garg needs no introduction to the fashion circuit, his label, Raw Mango, has singularly carved out a unique niche, one that invokes an old-world charm, one that’s reticent but not simplistic. An astute textile aficionado with an innate proclivity for Indian history, he has moved beyond the latitudes of commercial viability to foster the sari as a lifestyle, “For me, the sari has been a constant, I don’t think it requires an occasion, I want it to reach a state of normalcy. We have very limited ideas about consumption, the audience isn’t restricted to metropolitan cities, we need to view the phenomenon within a wider context. The sari, today, is cooler, more modern, it’s not unusual to see women wearing handloom saris to a cocktail party anymore,” he reflects.