Remembering Chantal Boulanger – Happy Birthday
This blog is dedicated to Chantal (Sushila) Boulanger, a cultural saree anthropologist, in a true sense of the word. Her work and her book Saris: An Illustrated Guide to the Indian Art of Draping, describes and categorizes more than 100+ ways of draping a saree. She addressed the Saree draping in both artistic and scientific manner and has left a mark on the Saree World. Her work has been inspiring for me and her presence is missed.
She meticulously took pictures and organized information about the saees. This is a picture of a saree from a sculpture from 7th century.
OF ALL the arts that have emerged out of India, one of the least known and studied is that of draping. Chantal Boulanger-Maloney devoted much of her time between 1980 and 1996 to travelling throughout south, central and eastern India researching and documenting 100 different styles of draping saris. She was particularly concerned that many of these styles would be forgotten if they were not documented. Her pioneering research was consolidated and published in her book Saris: an illustrated guide to the Indian art of draping (1997), which included many of her own drawings.
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About US
Sunny is a designer in Los Angeles. He loves the fluidity and fluency of a saree and believes that when a woman wears a saree, she not only adorns her body but she also adorns her soul. His design ethos is that “simplicity never goes out of style.”
Rupa Gupta: A writer, editor and journalist, Rupa has been in the media for more than two decades. She has worked as Editor with major publications, both in India and abroad. a keen eye for fashion and current trends. Her sense of aesthetics transcends the hype and always finds the true beauty.
Liza Varma is a former Femina Miss India and well known model in Delhi. Today, she is a leading Fashion Choreographer with over 1000 shows to her credit in India and abroad. She is also a member of the Fashion Design Council of India and a Consultant with Shoot Talent Management. Her client list is the who’s who of Indian fashion industry.
Misty is a student in London and has her fingers on the pulse of London fashion industry.
Abhi is a student in San Francisco and showcases sensuous saree pictures.
Kamini is a model in Los Angeles and loves to accentuate the best a saree has to offer.
I actually own Chantal’s book and it’s a marvel. She did so much for the sari culture and a huge favour for India and surrounding area with her work on perserving saris. There are a few saris in the book I have yet to figure out but I am set on learning them. There are far too many beautiful things in India that are quickly fading away (such as hair ornaments, I have a Facebook group on these just search parandi). It’s amazing to me just how many Indian women come up to me and tell me they don’t even know how to drape a sari and they are so surprised and pleased to see a non-desi wearing one in multiple styles and done so well. Please don’t burn your saris, wear them.
I recognize my friend Melinda Williams, owner of http://www.sarisafari.com, in the top photo of this entry. I think it would be courteous for sareedreams to acknowledge her. Melinda has devoted years of her life to studying saris, and travels for many months each year in India, documenting handlooms and buying stock for her business here in the USA. Her knowledge of handlooms is encyclopedic and she is a generous and passionate supporter of the handloom sari weaver and Indian textile culture!