The Offbeat Sari

The Design Museum Touring Programme

The programme was set up in 2002 with the aim of bringing design exhibitions to audiences around the UK and internationally. Since then, the museum has organised more than 180 tours to 145 venues in 38 countries worldwide.

The Design Museum’s touring exhibitions range in size from 150 to 1000 square metres and encompass all areas of design – architecture, fashion, graphics, product, digital and more.

About the Design Museum

The Design Museum, is the world’s leading museum dedicated to contemporary architecture and design. Winner of the 2018 European Museum of the Year Award, the Design Museum is a multifaceted museum, an ever-changing space for the public, industry and education to come together and explore new ideas. A registered charity, the museum’s innovative exhibitions, partnerships, research and learning programmes evidence how design can enable this planet and its inhabitants to thrive. Our landmark building in Kensington is the centre of our national network and a global hub for the transformative potential of design.

In 2021, the Design Museum launched Future Observatory, the UKs national programme for design research supporting the green transition. The museum’s action research is leading new approaches to lowering the environmental impact of exhibition making, most recently forming Museums 2030 a new peer support network to help UK museums and galleries catalyse change.

4 Exhibition overview

6 What’s in the exhibition

10 Exhibition content

31 Terms and conditions

32 Contact

CURATOR

Priya Khanchandani

Exhibition Design

Studio MUTT

Graphic Design

Sthuthi Ramesh

Venues

the Design Museum, London 19 May - 17 September 2023

Wereldmuseum, Amsterdam 12 April - 3 November 2024

Midlands Arts Centre UK June - October 2025

Bunjil Place, Australia

21 March 2026 - 30 August 2026

Venue in Australia

7 November 2026 - 4 April 2027

Tour Availability from May 2027

Space

approx 400 square metres

Exhibition overview

Worn as an everyday garment by some and considered by others to be contrived or uncomfortable, the definition of the sari has multiple subjectivities. Conventionally an unstitched drape wrapped around the body, which can be draped in multiple ways, its unfixed form has enabled it to morph and be absorbent of cultural influences.

In recent years the sari has been reinvented. The urban youth who previously associated the sari with formal wear can now be found wearing saris and sneakers on their commutes to work. Designers are experimenting with hybrid forms such as sari gowns and dresses, pre-draped saris and innovative materials such as steel.

Today the sari manifests as a garment subject to transformation, an expression of identity and resistance, and a crafted object with layers of cultural meanings.

What’s in the exhibition

Over 50 cutting-edge contemporary saris from the past decade

A showcase of pioneering designers who have reimagined the sari for the 21st century

A video installation by Border & Fall documenting the hundreds of ways to drape a sari

An Amit Aggarwal sari with ruffles made from heat pleated plastic polymers

Stories of protesters, activists, influencers, and musicians who use saris to express themselves and their messages

Saris worn by rock climbers, skateboarders, hula hoop dancers and cricketers

An AKAARO sari made from air pollution

A sari by Rimzim Dadu made from steel

Behind-the-scenes process materials revealing the skill and intricacies of contemporary craft techniques

Transformations

In recent years the sari has become a site for design innovation and experimentation. This section of the exhibition analyses the work of designers who have been party to this trend and are pushing the boundaries of the sari, through the creation of new genres of sari that have influenced streetwear and enabled it to be an object of playful expression. It also explores the work of conceptual designers who have used the sari as their canvas and created innovative forms such as the stitched sari dress, which demonstrate the ways in which the garment has been open to hybrid cultural influences.

Contemporary fashion designers are reinventing the sari for today. In contrast to the earlier fashion for heavy embellishment, their saris are often less ornate, using shape, pattern and detailing to create distinctive, wearable designs for a younger market. In this section we showcase the work of designers such as Raw Mango and AKAARO who are at the cutting edge of this dynamic shift. Their saris are generally lightweight and hand woven, with a unique interpretation of traditional textiles. Initially coveted by young, culturally-engaged women, particularly writers and journalists in New Delhi, they now have wide appeal across India.

Identity + Resistance

The sari transforms in meaning in the hands of its wearer and is a vessel for conveying individual identities, both within South Asia and among the diaspora. The sari today is a symbol of the intellectual urban woman, an expression of gender fluidity, and a canvas for celebrating under-represented bodies. This exhibition shows the immense capacity of the sari to reflect a diverse range of voices and personas and enable a variety of individual identities to flourish.

In the last decade, the sari has been liberated from its cultural boundaries and is being worn as an object of resistance in protest movements, as a symbol of unity and empowerment. It is also being worn in a way that empowers the female body through its embodiment by athletes, skateboarders and dancers. It will explore the use of the sari in protest movements as a symbol of unity and empowerment.

New Materialities

Contemporary Indian fashion is pushing the boundaries of traditional methods of craft resulting in new materialities that celebrate innovation in craft. India has a rich heritage of textile making, from the block prints of Gujarat to the brocades of Benaras, and designers are working with artisans to reinvent their practices for the 21st century creating a new relevance for their work.

The rise of natural dyes, handloom weaves and organic cottons, suggests an accelerating trend towards more sustainable ways of making through an appreciation for craftsmanship that is kinder to the planet and values traditional practices. The exhibition also showcases a handful of emerging techniques that break away from traditional craft and are forging a new future for sari materials.

Terms and conditions

Hire fee, on request, includes:

–Curation and exhibition concept

–Tour management by Design Museum staff

–Exhibits

–Images and films

–Exhibition text in English

–2D and 3D design concept

–Selected display kit

Costs payable by the venue:

–Hire fee, in instalments

–Exhibition and graphic design adaptation

–Share of transport and crating costs

–Storage of empty crates

–Nail-to-nail insurance

–All costs relating to exhibition production

–Installation and de-installation costs

–Marketing

Contact

To find out more about any of these exhibitions and other tours available from 2024 onwards, please contact:

Charlotte Bulté

Head of International Engagement charlotte.bulte@designmuseum.org

Erika Batey

Senior International Project Manager erika.batey@designmuseum.org