Sari spin on the bikini

[1]

PHOTO: Parikhit Pal

Your partner has planned a perfect beach honeymoon at Hawaii. You want to make it special by doing things you might never get a chance again. Probably, wear a bikini out there. But then, you don’t exactly have the most flattering figure to carry it.

How about a bikini sari? Impossible, you say. Delhi-based designers Shivan Bhatiya and Narresh Kukreja have managed to come up with this feat. “The bikini sari is the best tool to buy women the confidence for wearing a bikini while they feel appropriately covered to enjoy around water, appearing culturally soft at the same time,” says Narresh. The versatility of its drape can make you cover up and down as much as your regular sari.
The duo fondly remember the positive feedback they received for their bikini sari from their first client. She was a UK size14 and a cruise traveller, who would travel every year with her family.
“She was tired of wearing salwaar-kameez, silk and cotton saris and was too shy to get into an appropriate beachwear. When we pitched the idea to her, she agreed instantly to be the beautiful guinea pig,” says Narresh.
After returning from her two week long cruise with her family, she called them up and said, “After all these years you made my husband fall in love with me all over again!’’
Available in pink, black and cream, the bikini sari is made up of polyamide and elastane, and is as lightweight as a chiffon sari. The fabric is technologically advanced to make it resistant to UV rays, sunscreen and body oils as well as any sand piling or curling. Thus, appropriate to carry for a vacation, where one does not want to be flustered about maintaining clothes or ironing them.
Talking about their target group of bikini saris, Shivan smiles, “The target group is between 25-55 years. It starts with the honeymooners and then across the age, one every year for a holiday destination.”
The global reception to the bikini sari has been phenomenal. “We were the first Indian swimwear brand to be invited to showcase at the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week SWIM, in Miami. Apart from breaking the socio-cultural barriers, it was also great to see people’s reaction to the sari’s evolution into a three yard avatar,” says Shivan.