Renowned
fashion
designer
Sabyasachi
Mukherjee,
today
responded
to
the
backlash
over
his
comments
on
Indian
women
and
the
saree,
saying
the
matter
has
snowballed
into
an
unintended
"gender
issue."
The
designer
said
his
remarks
at
the
Harvard
India
Conference,
which
were
in
response
to
a
query
on
the
difficulties
that
women
face
in
draping
a
saree,
were
intended
to
be
a
reflection
on
the
"celebration
of
ourclothing
history
and
heritage".
Sabyasachi
Breaks
Silence..
Sabyasachi told PTI over
an
e-mail
exchange
from
Boston,
"What
was
intended
to
be
a
comment
on
celebration
of
our clothing history
and
heritage
became
a
debate
on
feminism.
This
is
not
a
gender
issue."
He
further
added..
"Since
the
question
was
about
the
saree,
women
were
involved."I
would
take
the
same
stand
on
men's
national
clothing
too."
"I
have
not
made
any
statement
on
a
woman's
choice
on
what
she
wishes
to
wear
which
is
always
her
own
prerogative."
Sabyasachi
Had
Shamed
Girls
Who
Don't
Know
How
To
Drape
A
Saree
Talking
to
the
Indian
students
gathered
in Cambridgeon
Saturday,
the
celebrity designer had
said,
"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."
"Women
and
men
are
trying
very
hard
to
be
something
that
they
are
not.
Your clothing
should
be
a
part
of
who
you
are
and
connect
you
to
your
roots,"
he
had
added.
Sabyasachi
Says
It's
His
'Personal
POV'
In
one
of
his
comments
at
the
event,
the
couturier
had
then,
in
fact,
credited
Indian
women
for
keeping
the
saree
alive,
but
declared
that
the
"dhoti
is
dead".
Referring
to
his
remarks,
the
Kolkata-based Sabyasachi said
he
had
only
expressed
his
"personal
point
of
view".
The designer said
he
had
often
observed
women
confessing
they
do
not
know
how
to
wear
a
saree
"with
a
hint
of
pride".
Sabyasachi
Further
Reveals..
"My
observation
came
from
the
fact
that
I
often
meet
those
who
say
it
with
a
hint
of
pride
on
how
they
don't
know
how
to
wear
a sari and
I
find
it
very
dismissive
of
our
heritage.
It's
a
personal
point
of
view."
"You
don't
need
to
live
your culture all
the
time
but
you
can
merely
acknowledge
it
and
celebrate
it,"
said
Sabyasachi,
who
was
also
in
the news recently
for
designing
the
weddingdresses of Virat
Kohli and Anushka
Sharma.
Bollywood
star
Deepikia
Padukone
was
often
seen
in
Sabyasachi
designer
sarees
during
her
promotional
events
for
the
movie
Padmaavat.
Sabyasachi
is
the
latest
name
to
be
embroiled
into
a
Twitter
controversy,
with
many
taking
offence
to
the
remarks
and
calling
them
patriarchal
and
anti-feminist.
Some
even
went
on
to
point
out
that
a
Sabyasachi
label
saree
costs
a
fortune
and
he
should
instead
sell
the
garment
at
reasonable
prices.
The
designer,
although
concerned,
is
not
taking
the
censure
on
the
Internet
negatively.
"What
social
media
does
is
that
it
brings
forward
a
democratic
debate
and
that
is
always
healthy,"
he
said.