What's The Cancan Saree Drape?This Cool New Way To Wear Your Kanjeevarams Is Totally DOPE!

Silk sarees are timeless but even the most classic pieces can get repetitive the wedding world. So when we saw Tia Bhuva weave her magic through draping silk sarees with a modern twist, we couldn’t stop stalking her IG feed! We asked her how she did her magic and she let us in on her secret!

Today Tia tells about the The CancanSaree and styling Traditional Silk Sarees with a Modern Twist!

“Silk sarees are in a class of their own – they are classic, beautiful and timeless - passed down from generation to generation. They are also super expensive when compared with most other sarees. I think it’s a shame that we treat them like fast fashion pieces and wear them once- maybe twice. Because silk sarees are classic, they are truly basics and can be styled in many different ways. The addition of a cancan skirt allows you to experiment with the drape.

A bride wore a lengha skirt with a silk saree for her engagement party and posted it on Instagram. If you search #cancansaree other than the million images of me, hers is the first one there! I loved the look so much that I tried it with my koorai wedding saree – adjusting the drape a bit. And the rest, is history. Since then I’ve tried so many drapes – and its amazing how many different looks you can get just with the addition of a cancan skirt. I think that is the most beautiful thing about a saree – its versaitility and the endless possibilities confined only by your imagination."

How did you do the drapes?

A how to of the half saree/cancan drape can be found on my youtube channel – ccbytia. I will be posting how-tos on the other drapes over the next few months. For ideas on many different ways of draping the cancansaree, please check out my Instagram page @tiabhuva

I think the most difficult part in doing most drapes, is pleating the pallu. It takes a lot of practice and patience so don’t give up if you don’t get it right away. But I can’t stress the importance of getting it right - I truly believe that a neatly pleated pallu can make or break the entire look. Never settle for uneven pleats!

What sarees do you recommend for Cancan-saree drapes?

I think the cancansaree drapes work best with silk sarees – especially when styling with a silk skirt but I’ve also tried different drapes with soft/georgette sarees and they turn out beautifully as well.

How do you style your cancan-saree looks?

The important thing to remember with draping a cancansaree look is that both the skirt, your top and saree have to complement each other – this is why I recommend using simple skirts so that they are versatile and can be styled with many different sarees you (or your mom, grandma) already have in your closet.

The addition of a belt and/or waist chain really pulls the entire look together for most drapes – I think this is my #1 accessory. Other accessories should complement the saree/skirt and not detract from it. If the saree is intricate with a lot of details, keep the earrings/necklace/tikka to a minimum but if the outfit is quite simple, adding ornate accessories can really make the entire look come alive. It’s all about balance!