Play Sari

Play Clan or The Clan as they call themselves, are a fashion, graphic art and design playhouse telling stories about local Indian culture as assorted curios for your wardobe and home -- narratives from a village scene, ancient temple architecture rendered Lego-style, or the general chaos of everyday urban India all serve as good stories.

The Play Clan Sari Edition, their latest project on display at Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week in New Delhi, takes the storyboard onto six yards of sari.

"It's the same way a t-shirt gives you the canvas to make a graphic statement, here the sari expands this canvas to expand the story," explains Himanshu Dogra, founder Play Clan. "But it's a statement, so it needs a strong viewpoint."

A collection of 20 colorful graphic silk saris interpret tribes and icons of India, paired with neo-tribal accessories, print-on-print blouses and tied using regional drapes styled by Gautam Kalra into modern sari dresses.

Some striking examples include interpretations of traditional Indian haveli architecture but in an Origami geometric format, or a Konkani bride graphically vectorized.

"The designs push the boundary of the sari to a younger audience who are open to experimenting and expressing a strong viewpoint," Dogra says. "We're trying to shift the traditional sari-wearing age from 20 and 30 plus, to start at 18 or 20 instead.