Mandira goes the full six yards

Actor Mandira Bedi has now donned a designer's hat with her line of saris

She has been always been a trendsetter of sorts — first as the gutsy crusader in Shanti, the hit serial of the ’90s and then as the first female host of the cricket show Extra Innings, in which her noodle strap blouses were as much the talk of town as the Indian team’s performance. And now Mandira Bedi is all set to don the mantle of designer with her new line of saris.

The actor and style icon admits to having been mesmerised by the six-yard drape since 2003, when she started hosting Extra Innings. “I have worn and loved Ritu Kumar, Satya Paul and Masaba saris,” says Bedi. Suddenly, one day she decided to make her own sari. She just walked into a store, bought the fabric and designed her first ever six-yard marvel. “After a friend modelled for me, everyone wanted to know where the sari was from,” says Bedi who then opened her first store in Khar, Mumbai.

With the unmitigating support of her husband, film director Raj Kaushal, Bedi participated in two exhibitions and was encouraged by the response. “We sold 88 saris in two days at the Araaish exhibition. In Singapore, again the response was great and we managed to sell 65 of the 69 saris,” she says. The two events not only boosted her confidence but helped her get the pricing right. A major chunk of her line is priced between Rs 14,000 and Rs 17,500, with a few costing Rs 20,000.

According to Bedi, most women with a penchant for designer saris would end up buying only one as the prices were too steep. But at her store, one can purchase two saris at that price. Her USP, she feels, likes in her understanding of what a woman desires from a sari. “My saris are not heavily embellished. They are easy-to-drape,” she says.

Bedi’s designs, showcased at the recent Lakmé Fashion Week Summer/Resort 2014, are unique in many ways. You can’t help but notice a burst of colour — royal blue blends seamlessly with turquoise while orange and pink happily coexist on fabric. “I don’t sketch as I am not a trained designer. But I do draw a rectangle and then construct my saris. So there is a play on pleats, pallus and tuck-ins,” she says. Most of the embroidery and embellishments are restricted to the borders, while the rest is kept pretty simple. She avoids cotton as it tends to plump up, sticking instead to fabrics like satin, georgette and chiffon that drape well. “I want to shatter the perception that saris are for grandmas. They can be fun, funky and young,” she smiles.
 

Even though Bedi has got offers to open franchises in Dubai, Delhi and Pune, she wants to take it slow to grasp the nuances of the retail business. “But the one market I know I will not sell is south India as they like saris which are in keeping with their traditional, conservative weaves,” she confesses.

Bedi hasn’t ruled out designing for the silver screen either. “My bread and butter is corporate show hosting. But who knows, tomorrow I might be doing costumes for a Shah Rukh Khan film? Never say never is my motto,” she concludes.