Saris, Lehengas and why Carrie Bradshaw should know the difference

When the sixth episode of "And only like this", the restart of "Sex and the city," air came out at the beginning of this month, attracted a lot of attention from the community of southern Asia.Appointed in honor of the Hindu Diwali Festival, the episode used the celebration as a plot point and caused strong reactions to a false step that is now called Sari-Gate.

In a scene, Carrie Bradshawwinterpretated by Sarah Jessica Parker, and Sema Patel, a real estate broker playsari".After the episode was issued, many spectators pointed out that the store was actually supplied with Indian garments beyond Sari and that Carrie finally bought a Lehenga, a three -piece garment used in weddings and Indian celebrations.

Later in the episode, Sema is seen and his mother using Saris, which consists of a piece of unbridled fabric that is wrapped around the body and hangs on a shoulder, along with blouses that complement.But the script never strives to distinguish between their saris and the Lehenga de Carrieun careless.

In an Instagram publication shared the day after the issuance of the episode, Imran Amed, founder and executive director of Business of Fashion, said: "I think it's really great" that Carrie would like to wear Indian clothes for the Diwali party."The problem is that there are now millions of people who think that what Carrie is wearing is a sari," said Amed, who lives in London."It is not."

What is in a name, really?In this case, centuries of cultural history.

It is believed that Lehenga (or Ghagra) acquired popularity around the 16th century, during Mughal's reign in India, and is more predominant in northern India.

«The Lehenga set is usually made of three elements: the voluminous skirt to the ground called Lehenga;the blouse or choli, many times like a crop top;And a Dupatta or stole curtain, ”said Divyak D’Auza, a stylist in Mumbai and presenter of the Indian edition of“ Say Yes to The Dress ”, a reality show show.

The much discussed Lehenga de Carrie is a set of burgundy skirt and midnight blue blouse from the Spring-Summer 2020 collection of Falguni Shane Pavo Real, a line founded by husband and wife's designers Falguni Peacock and Shane Peacock.The adorned team, made in the designer workshop in Mumbai, presents colorful embroidery and gold thread details on a jacquard fabric, and also comes with a matching tulle network dupatta that Carrie does not use in the episode.

“Los motivos de los lehenga presentan cúpulas arquitectónicas, inspiradas en los palacios de Udaipur, Rajasthan”, dijo Falguni Peacock, cuya marca goza de popularidad entre varias celebridades de la diáspora; sus lehengas también fueron usados ​​recientemente por Priyanka Chopra Jonas y Mindy Kaling para las celebraciones de Diwali en 2021.Shane Peacock added that he and his wife approach their Lehengas almost as dresses, which also makes them a success among a younger crowd.

Sari is an even older garment.KH Radharaman, Creative Director of Advaya, a brand known for his technical innovations of Sari, said the curtain has a rich history.«Sari is one of the oldest garments in the history of humanity, whose origins date back to the Civilization of the Indo Valley.

"The nature of our ceremonies has changed, but Sari has remained constant," said Radharaman, who lives in Bangalore, India."It represents centuries of continuity in thought, linking to our past and its traditions".

The Saris, he said, combine with a stitched blouse and are mainly used by women, although some men also use them."The commonly represented way of using one is wrapped around the waist down in concentric folds, while the extended part, the pallu or piece of the tail, is thrown on the left shoulder," Radharaman said.The most contemporary forms of designing a Sari include using it with a custom jacket, an impeccable white shirt or even a layer.

In its pure form, Sari is a fabric that adopts the form of a bearer, which means that there are as many ways to cover it as communities in India.

"Each region has its own Sari and the corresponding visual design vocabulary, with reasons and techniques whose lineage and origin are impregnated with history or mythology," said Radharaman."It is deeply symbolic of the user's culture and its creator, so it represents different cultural sensibilities in a way than few garments around the world can".

Between this and the Lehenga, is it a more popular or more appropriate for certain occasions than the other?In a country as culturally diverse as India, it is difficult to generalize, since both have been part of the collective clothing lexicon of the Indians for centuries (along with other garments such as Anarkalis, Kurtas and Shararas, to name a few).Each community has its own mandate on its preferred silhouette or clothing for the festivities, although D’Auza said that Lehenga is usually an option when an event requires a more formal clothing.

"Sari is a common outfit for many Indian women, even for daily use," he said.“The Lehenga, compared, tends to be used more for festive occasions and weddings;seen both in the bride and in the guests ".

The "colors and the ornamentation of the surface of a Lehenga are often related to the cultural context of the bride," said D’Auza, who pointed out that not all versions are of spicy colors or with a lot of brightness and floral patterns."Silhouette has evolved greatly.Many designers are adopting a modernist approach;experimenting with traditional fabrics, contemporary updates and modern style ”.

(This article originally appeared in The New York Times).

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