Roli Books Saris of India: Traditions and Beyond

Saris of India is a landmark study of India’s sari traditions - documenting 108 drapes, regional weaves, and cultural practices across 15 states - bridging heritage, design, and contemporary relevance. The sari is the most representative apparel of India that has intrigued men and tempted women all over the world. Worn in a variety of ways, the sari is a fabric-length of varying densities in its body, borders and end pieces often woven by combining a range of cottons and silks in colours and patterns that are constantly evolving. Saris of India is an exhaustive overview of this fascinating unstitched garment and a cutting-edge documentation of design and all that supports it socially, culturally and economically. Travelling district by district, village by village, the book explores an entire spectrum of traditional weaver and printer settlements in fifteen sari-producing states of India. Thus emerges the first comprehensive compilation of the whole range and scale of the sari: the structures, designs, colours, the format, and technology that make up the lingua of the sari; the inspiration, living experience and sensibilities of the weaving and printing communities; their economic viability and market system; and their predicament in an age of transition. For the first time, this book offers a step-by-step guide for at least 108 ways of draping the sari, through a series of line drawings and colour photographs, after revealing the rationale of the varying lengths and widths of the sari in the distinctive wearing styles of every region. Produced after twenty years of research, Saris of India illustrates the vibrancy and splendour of this age old garment through extensive documentation and stunning photographs. A vivid account of how saris come into being for the lay reader and the specialist – be they textilists, designers, scholars or developers who will find this book equally engaging.