The quintessential Bollywood diva, who launched Six Yards by Madhuri Dixit in collaboration with Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, talks about her love for the sari and Indian textiles, and spills the beans on her passion for travel.
Excerpts from the interview with Madhuri Dixit:
T+L India: Tell us about Six Yards by Madhuri Dixit. What inspired you to launch this?
Madhuri Dixit: Everybody knows about my love for saris. And my association with Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop is a celebration of that love and of the love for traditional work and the exquisite craftsmanship that The actor loved her family vacation to Florence, Italy. PEOPLE goes into each sari. We have the best designers under one roof to create saris for us. My association with Purple Style Labs [owner of Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop] goes deeper because they are very tuned into luxury lifestyle industry and have a keen knowledge of what Indian fashion consumers like.
T+L India: You have romanticised saris both on screen and off screen. And somebody like you lending a voice to Indian textiles makes a huge difference. What more do you think can be done for the artisans to promote their work?
Madhuri Dixit: Appreciation of what they do goes a long way. When designers employ the artisans and use different kind of materials and weaves that they create, they push their work out there—not only to our own audience but also to a global audience. This is also part of what we do at Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop. We give them work and that’s what they need. I feel we need to push to get them more recognition and take them to global markets.
T+L India: Which place in India fascinates you for its textile traditions?
Madhuri Dixit: The South of India, obviously, with their Kanjivaram and variety of silks. Gujarat has so many textiles and I particularly love the Patolas and then the Northeast for the wide range of unique textiles it offers.
T+L India: You have travelled all over the world—is there any place in particular that you would like to explore?
Madhuri Dixit: There are so many unexplored things in India that I want to take up. I remember, I went to Arunachal Pradesh for the shooting of Koyla (1997), which was amazing. I hadn’t been there before, and I was stunned by the beauty of the place, until then I didn’t even know it existed. I want to explore more of India definitely.
T+L India: Tell us about a place that you really feel connected to because of its people?
Madhuri Dixit: Mumbai, because I was born and brought up there. I feel a very deep connection to the city, to the people, and even though I lived in the US for 10-12 years, I eventually returned to Mumbai.
T+L India: How does travel inspire you as an artist?
Madhuri Dixit: Travel serves as a big inspiration because you get to see so many different cultures, experience their traditions and values. You get to acquaint yourself with their fashion and way of life. All these things are quite fascinating and it is exciting to be able to experience all these.
T+L India: Tell us about your favourite travel memory.
Madhuri Dixit: I love to travel. My favourite travel memory has to be of Italy, I went there with my family. We went to Florence, which has a rich history, and Milan, the hub of fashion in Italy. Both were very different and amazing. We got to learn so much about the past as well as got an overview of current trends.
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