How much time does it take to drape a sari? Half an hour? Fifteen minutes? Five minutes? Gaurang Shah can do it in less than a minute. I look at him in disbelief when he says that. “I'll show you, come,” he says, guiding me into his first boutique in the city. It’s been a few days since the inauguration but the courtyard is still decorated with a string of fresh yellow marigolds and diyas. It’s all very festive and traditional.
The decor inside is minimalist and classy. You know they say a store is a window to the designer’s mind. He pulls out a beautiful white khadi cotton sari with a colourful silk border and drapes it around me. Twenty five seconds are all it takes. First, he deftly pleats the sari and tucks it into the belt. Then, wrapping it around, he sets the pallu on the left shoulder. This is Bengali style. "There are numerous ways of wearing a sari. But this and the Gujarati style are what I like the best,” says Gaurang.
The others in the store look on amazed. “It comes with practice. I have done so many fashion shows. At least here we get helpers backstage. At the Berlin Fashion Week, I had to drape the sari on the models myself,” he says.
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Known for working with traditional weavers, Gaurang now has 450 of them working for him across Kota, Benaras, Kanchipuram, and the states of Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. “Back in early 2000, georgette and chiffon saris were popular. Nobody wanted handloom saris. I wanted to revive it and gave them contemporary designs and bright colours. And that’s how Gaurang the label was born.”
The store mostly stocks saris. These include Uppada, Khadi, Paithani, Patan Patola, Kota, Kancheepuram… There are also salwar kameezes and anarkalis in pastel shades, off whites, whites with Kalamkari prints, Parsi embroidery and chikankari among others. His collection ‘Chitr-Sena’ that he showcased at the Lakme Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2014 will shortly be available as well here. The line features saris, anarkalis, ghagras, ghararas and anghrakhas with animal motifs. “Everything got sold out at the event,” smiles the designer who is on an expansion spree. He recently set up shop in Bangalore, Kolkata and Mumbai. “Next year, I am organising an exhibition in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, London and New York. Who knows, I might even open a store there!”
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