Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee issues apology for overdressed statement

Last year, Sabyasachi got in trouble when he criticized Indian women for not knowing how to wear a saree and giving preference to Western outfits

Sabyasachi Mukherjee

Sabyasachi Mukherjee is one of the most favourite bridal wear designers in the country. Mukherjee was recently slammed for his post where he said, "A woman who is “overdressed, caked with make-up and armoured with jewellery, in all probability is wounded”. He added, “such women shine for the world” but are in reality "bleeding inside".

He also said that some women find jewellery filling in the gaps and echoing the silences in their lives.

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#Sabyasachi #ParadiseLost #SabyasachiJewelry #TheWorldOfSabyasachi @sabyasachijewelry

A post shared by Sabyasachi Mukherjee (@sabyasachiofficial) onJul 5, 2019 at 8:10am PDT

However, the designer received a major backlash for his statement. The designer had to issue an apology:

"I acknowledge the feedback we have received regarding the statements made in our recent Instagram presentation. We hear you and although it was intended as a message of love and empathy and a call to look beyond exterior appearances, it wasn’t articulated correctly. I understand that it does not convey the message appropriately at all and for that, I would like to accept blame and offer an unconditional apology."

Here's the full apology:

 

 

 

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I thought a lot about whether to post this, but sometimes it is important to set the record straight and get the right message across. Having been in the fashion industry for over 20 years, I have encountered it firsthand and commented about it in many of my interviews - how, while many women use fashion and beauty for joy and self-expression, others use it as ‘retail therapy’ to fill in the gaps and voids in their lives. We, as a society, often get extremely judgemental about peoples’ clothing choices, calling them ‘overdressed’ or ‘tacky’ or ‘inappropriate’. We fail to understand that maybe some are using these as coping mechanisms to put on a brave front to make up for the lack of a support system. The true essence of the post was to ask people to be aware, empathetic, and not judgemental of peoples’ personal clothing choices, which could be a manifestation of their internal anguish. One of the bigger issues in society today, that very few people address, is mental health, and a little bit of awareness, empathy and kindness go a long way in acknowledging it. I have coped with crippling depression as a teenager for 7 years. I found my coping mechanism through radical clothing choices.I was sneered at and bullied, but it helped me find my way again. When I was creating this jewellery collection, I referred to Tagore’s ‘Monihara’ because it talks about these issues, which are sadly more relevant today. And I, for one, have never shied away from speaking about uncomfortable truths, no matter how disruptive it might be for my personal gain. Because when power is given, social responsibility should not be shunned. The mistake, however, was to use the reference as a blanket statement, as sometimes when we are passionate about an issue, we end up becoming overzealous and hence, tone deaf. My sincere apologies for that. The original post (however flawed) was put up to invite introspection and debate about how love, sensitivity and compassion, alongside expressions of art, beauty and fashion can create a net positive in the world. I invite everyone to democratically join this debate. Regards, Sabyasachi

A post shared by Sabyasachi Mukherjee (@sabyasachiofficial) onJul 7, 2019 at 12:53am PDT

Last year, Sabyasachi got in trouble when he criticized Indian women for not knowing how to wear a saree and giving preference to Western outfits.

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