A day after being trolled for his alleged woman-shaming on Twitter, designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee has said that he did not make “any statement on a woman's choice on what she wishes to wear,” adding that it “is always her own prerogative.” Nice, but borrowing from a Bieber song:
Mukherjee, who designs expensive-as-hell sarees and lehengas for a living, had said it was a matter of shame that young Indian women did not know how to wear a saree.
The comment, interestingly, wasn’t even made in India, but at the Harvard-India Conference where the designer was responding to a question about the difficulties women face in draping a saree.
I think, if you tell me that you do not know how to wear a saree, I would say shame on you. It’s a part of your culture, (you) need to stand up for it.Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Terming the matter an unintended gender issue, the designer in an e-mail exchange to PTI from Boston said:
What was intended to be a comment on celebration of our clothing history and heritage became a debate on feminism. This is not a gender issue. Since the question was about the saree, women were involved. I would take the same stand on men’s national clothing too.Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee
Even though the designer’s remarks were received with applause by the Indian audience present at the Harvard conference, desi Twitterati launched an attack on the designer and called him out for shaming Indian women abroad.
“Shame on Sabyasachi If He Doesn't Know How to Make a Samosa”
Mukherjee had also commented that Indian men and women are becoming socially “insecure” and are trying very hard to be something that they are not. Ummm.....
My observation came from the fact that I often meet those who say it with a hint of pride on how they don’t know how to wear a sari and I find it very dismissive of our heritage.Sabysachi, Fashion Designer
Excuse me, But we are desi as hell. Samosa aur dhokla ki kasam.
For those that have gushed over the designer’s creations for long and are now disappointed at his remark, this gif best describes the emotion.
Just can’t handle the drama.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)