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The silk sari has gone slim-fit. Sri Palam Silks, the brainchild of Ms Jeyasree Ravi, who belongs to the family of Nalli, a well-known sari retailer in the South, now offers slim-fit saris that promise, well, to give the wearer a trim look.
This is not a readymade sari tailored to a slim-fit. It is six yards of fabric waiting to be draped.
“Usually, youngsters complain that silk saris are stiff and give an above-average size. So, we have woven geometric patterns, checks and curves in a particular manner to make you seem slimmer,” says Ms Ravi. It is an illusion, of course, she adds.
Sri Palam Silks says it has used a softer finish and finer yarn on the fabric to give an easy and neat drape.
Blacks, greys
While the first set of slim-fit saris came in blacks and greys, colours that generally make people look slimmer, the retailer later experimented with earthy tones as well.
The average price of the sari is Rs 10,000. The company has sold around 100 pieces since its launch in February across its four stores in Chennai and Coimbatore. “The sari has done well in the 22-40 age group.” Purists may scorn, but the six-yard wonder has always been an object of quirky tests — from readymade versions and reversible saris to saris with zippers and those with 50,000 colours.
“But I want to make saris that are wearable everyday,” says Ms Ravi.
In her quest to make the silk sari a “preferred choice” for the youth and not a grudging compromise, Sri Palam Silks has been introducing innovations such as the wrinkle-free muhurta pattu (wedding silk) sari, saris with pockets to hold your mobile phone and the Corporate Pattu line targeted at the young executive.
Ultra-light
Recently, Sri Palam Silks launched ‘ultra-light fusion’ saris.
“Youngsters don’t want to wear heavy silks. So, we have made the bottom part with silk and the top part is in silk-cotton, or vice-versa.
This reduces the weight of the sari considerably. We sell 25-50 of these saris every day,” says Ms Ravi, who set up Palam Silks in 2003.
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