A landmark international exhibition celebrating the sari – one of the world’s most worn garments – will make its Australian debut at Bunjil Place Gallery on Saturday 21 March 2026.
Developed by the Design Museum and presented in partnership with Sydney’s Liverpool Powerhouse, The Offbeat Sari brings together 54 groundbreaking saris on loan from leading global designers and emerging studios across India, in a large-scale exploration of the contemporary Indian and South Asian fashion staple.
Conceived and curated by Priya Khanchandani to highlight the evolution of the iconic garment and its reinvention in the modern era, the exhibition explores how the sari is an expression of identity and resistance, with designers, wearers and craftspeople reshaping the ways in which it is understood, designed, made and worn in contemporary urban India.
The presentation of experimental designs, high-end couture pieces worn by global celebrities, and everyday styles seen on the streets of India’s major cities, features innovations in draping, form and materials, and has never been seen before in Australia.
The Offbeat Sari includes designs by Abraham and Thakore, Raw Mango, Akaaro and NorBlackNorWhite, who have been at the cutting-edge of the sari’s dynamic shift and renewed relevance, alongside examples that experiment with materials such as steel and denim, by designers including HUEMN, Diksha Khanna and Bodice.
The couture sari selection includes Tarun Tahiliani’s foil jersey sari, a version of which was worn by Lady Gaga (2010), and a version of Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla’s ruffled sari worn by Bollywood star Deepika Padukone at the Cannes Film Festival (2022), as well as works that further exemplify the sari’s extravagant potential by Sabyasachi and Anamika Khanna.
“The sari is experiencing what is conceivably its most rapid reinvention in its 5,000-year history. This makes the sari movement one of today’s most important global fashion stories, yet little is known of its true nature beyond South Asia,” said Exhibition curator Priya Khanchandani.
“What fascinates me most is that its reinvention isn’t simply aesthetic – it’s cultural, political and emotional. Designers and wearers are stretching the sari’s possibilities and transforming it into a catalyst for imagining new futures. I’m incredibly excited to be collaborating with Bunjil Place to bring this story to audiences In Australia.”
Adapted for Bunjil Place Gallery, exhibition designer Studio Peter King (Pharaoh, NGV, 2024 and Floribunda, Bunjil Place Gallery, 2025) has been working with the Design Museum and Bunjil Place to bring together the three main sections of The Offbeat Sari:
- Transformations – showcasing bold, experimental designs that are redefining the sari, with highlights including a denim sari, a piece made with hospital X-ray film sequins, and sculptural art using the sari form – as well as a series of videos filmed in India revealing the rich diversity of traditional sari draping styles;
- Identity and Resistance – focusing on how people are using the sari to express identity and challenge social norm, with saris on display worn by activists, artists and members of the diaspora, including those used in protest movements and by individuals redefining gender and body image; and
- New Materialities – exploring the sari as a textile art form, with a showcase of the creativity of craftspeople using innovative materials and traditional techniques, including a sari made with ultra-fine stainless-steel wires shaped into gold-like waves.
“The Offbeat Sari is a landmark exhibition highlighting design’s role in a major fashion story that is little-known outside India. We were delighted to develop the idea and stage it at the Design Museum in London three years ago,” said Tim Marlow, the Design Museum’s CEO and Director.
“Since then, the exhibition has evolved and travelled in Britain and Europe, and I’m delighted it is now being staged in Australia. This new context will give new audiences the opportunity to develop an understanding of a significant, re-energised and utterly captivating cultural phenomenon.”
In line with the exhibition, Bunjil Place is offering a suite of public programs and events, including a curator talk by Priya Khanchandani on Sunday 22 March. A special presentation of Elsewhere in India also takes place on Saturday 28 March – this internationally-celebrated and trailblazing audio-visual performance by Indian electronica pioneers Murthovic and Thiruda explores cultural heritage, digital technology, and speculative futures through film, interactive experiences, video games, and sculpture.
The Offbeat Sari is on display at the Bunjil Place Gallery from 21 March – 30 August 2026. The Offbeat Sari will then be on display at Liverpool Powerhouse from 7 November 2026 – 4 April 2027.
Image: Rally of women movement Gulabi gang with leader Sampat Pal Devi, the women in pink fight against violence against women, 2009. Alamy – photo by Joerg Boethling | courtesy of the Design Museum in London and Bunjil Place Gallery