Madhuri Dixit Nene’s sari-gown showcased Parsi gara embroidery stitched over eight weeks

Madhuri Dixit Nene is rarely one to stray from the six-yard classic, favouring traditional weaves and flowing chiffons. Her latest Ashdeen look, however, reimagined the sari as a corseted gown. “The silhouette was inspired by a sari, but the idea was to make it into a gown. The upper part is a corseted bodice, the bottom an A-line skirt with a high slit,” explains designer Ashdeen Lilaowala.

She chose the ebony ensemble for the screening of Netflix’s The Ba**ds of Bollywood. “The gown took us more than eight weeks to complete because it consists of lots of different elements, which were crafted across various studios by various artisans. It was an intricate process to ensure all pieces were rendered in the same shades and details,” the designer explains.

The highlight is the embroidery. “The sari features our classic Parsi gara,” notes Lilaowala. For this sari-gown, motifs of flowers and birds in pink, blue and orange were stitched against a black canvas, turning the gown into a work of wearable art.

Often described as “painting in thread” and relegated to heirloom collections, the centuries-old Parsi gara work dates back to the 19th century when Parsi traders brought back embroidered silks from Canton to Gujarat. Its motifs, spanning the range of florals, birds and even Chinese figures, were borrowed from porcelain and adapted into threadwork so intricate it could take months to finish a single sari. Lilaowala adds, “We have quirky names for motifs, too. There’s ‘Cheena Cheeni’, which depicts a Chinese man and woman against a landscape of pagodas or ‘Karoliya’, which means a spider.”

Another famous pattern, ‘kaanda papeta’, literally translates to onions and potatoes, a tongue-in-cheek nod to its ubiquity.

Keeping the spotlight on the sari-gown, Madhuri Dixit Nene accessorised with nothing but a pair of chandelier earrings. With her hair styled in a half-up, half-down, she completed her beauty look with smoky eyes and berry lips.

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