It takes a professional to drape a sari

Male sari drapers are gaining popularity, charging from ₹2,000 to ₹25,000 per drape, catering to brides and models.

It is par for the course to employ someone to drape a sari for bridesmaids at their wedding. Traditionally, sari draping for the bride was done by other women within the family or the staff hired to do the make-up. However, more recently, more men are venturing into sari draping.

In the last two years, over a dozen male sari drapers have emerged in Chennai. And these men earn anywhere between ₹2,000 and ₹25,000 for one drape. Across India, there are male sari drapers who earn even a few lakhs for one drape. The neighbourhood beauty parlour would charge ₹500 to ₹1,500 (depending on the brand) for draping the sari during the wedding. Apart from this, there are men who do make a career out of sari pre-pleating — they pleat the sari, including the pallu, and iron it intact, besides using safety pins to keep the folds in place. The woman just has to take the sari and slip into it. For pre-pleating, the charge is anywhere between ₹800 and ₹1,500.

Anbarasan Mahadevan, popularly known as @style_with_anbu, a self-taught sari draper, says that when he started out four years ago, there were hardly any men in this field, but things have changed. Anbarasan, 20 years old now, also conducts sari draping classes. According to him, a lot of detailing goes into draping; for instance, some like more pleats — the size of the pleat also matters — and some want the pallu to be longer, while some others want it in a different way. He also notes that there are several tricks to pin a sari and each sari is different because of the material.

Adithya Jaykumar (@ad.jayan), another Chennai-based sari draper and stylist, explains that women are comfortable during the process. “Today, most women do a pre-wedding make-up trial. So, during the trial, I explain to them how it works and women from my team are always around. While tucking the sari, we ask them if they want to do it themselves or we ask a family member around to do it,” he says. He learnt the art in his childhood when he helped women in his house do the pleating. Asked about the time taken to drape a sari, Mr. Mahadevan and Mr. Jaykumar say it takes 8-10 minutes to drape a silk sari and if its pre-pleated, the duration is 4-5 minutes.

Their clientele includes brides and their family members. And they also drape saris for models and actors.

Fashion choreographer Karun Raman says men drape saris with utmost perfection and the pleats look neat. He mentions that this trend started on Instagram with Thivyan Jayareuben, a popular sari drapist. Now, it is catching on. Most of the sari drapers do their own marketing and take bookings through social media platforms.

V. Tharun, an IT professional, who booked a male sari draper for his wedding, says, “When it comes to buying a wedding sari, families want some top brands like Nalli, Pothys, or RMKV. Similarly, associating with a popular male sari draper is like a brand.” Those in the industry say the demand for the sari drapers is increasing.