Princess Gauravi Kumari, granddaughter of the late Maharani Gayatri Devi, made her Met Gala debut wearing a chiffon sari gown designed by Prabal Gurung. This ensemble wasn’t just inspired by Maharani Gayatri Devi but physically incorporated one of her pink self-sequin saris into the ensemble. Kumari styled the look with layered pearl necklaces, much like her grandmother. “Pearls and chiffon are so closely associated with Maharani Gayatri Devi… incorporating them felt like a natural ode to her,” Kumari told Vogue India. Ear chains, bangles and rings extend that reference even further.
In the mid-19th century, French chiffon had already captured the fascination of the aristocracy in Europe and the United States. Made from silk, the translucent fabric was the epitome of luxury among women. In the early 20th century, it caught the attention of Indira Devi, the rebel princess of Baroda and Maharani of Cooch Behar, and she put chiffon on the fashion map of India.
“When she visited France, she was fascinated by the beauty products there – bags, shoes, jewellery and more. On a trip to Lyon, she fell in love with the chiffon fabric and felt it would make for a wonderful sari,” says Dharmendar Kanwar, a heritage conservationist and author of the book Rajmata Gayatri Devi – Enduring Grace, and her biography – The Last Queen of Jaipur.
Always choosing to defy the archetypal image of a widow, Indira Devi ordered a nine-yard chiffon sari from Lyon. Her portrait in that white sari, with a golden border and pearls, by Philip de Laszlo in 1927, was the watershed moment for chiffon in India. “For a long time, even till Gayatri Devi, their chiffon saris would be ordered as fabric from France and finishing, like adding embroidery or borders, would be done here,” Kanwar says.
