Participants will get to wrap, rewrap, style and play with sarees, learning small tricks that make draping feel intuitive.
In this playful, hands‑on saree draping session, participants will get to wrap, rewrap, style and play with texture and flow, learning small tricks that make draping feel intuitive rather than intimidating. You’ll talk about the stories our clothes carry and how cloth can move with us across seasons and occasions. For more background on saree draping, arrive at 12:00 for a talk on decolonising saree drapes.
Facilitator: Manju is a group‑work and creative facilitator with over 20 years’ experience holding space for conversations about culture, sustainability and community building. Her work is rooted in spacious, identity‑affirming practice — no body shaming, no policing of how a saree “should” sit.
@manjilmakes
Materials: Bring your own saree or play with the ones provided.
Age: 18+
Level: Beginner
Please arrive 10 minutes early to ensure a prompt start. Latecomers may be denied entry and their tickets offered to our waiting list.
This workshop is a part of the Ahista Stories Live, London's only South Asian sustainable fashion festival.
Participants must purchase a General Admission ticket for Ahista Stories Live, including access to talks and some workshops, as well as a workshop ticket.
Testimonials:
“Looking at our wardrobes through a critical lens and using it to spark conversations about broader issues of emotional triggers, identity and our communities in a setting with other like minded people.”
“I loved meeting new people and community with likeminded individuals”
“It made me feel closer to my south Asian culture and want to immerse myself with people from similar cultures”
About Ahista Stories:
Ahista Stories is a community-led platform building a fairer fashion system and celebrating South Asian textile artistry. Through our annual festival, workshops, panel discussions and digital content, we work at the intersection of fashion, labour rights and climate justice - insisting that the fashion system must change.
Follow @ahista.stories for updates about Ahista Stories Live and future events.
‘Ahista’ means slow in Urdu, an official language in Pakistan and India. For us, slowness means advocating for mindful, maker-led production of fashion; fair labour; and conscious consumption in the face of ever-faster trend cycles and overproduction.
Contact: If you have any questions regarding this event, please email programming@stmargaretshouse.org.uk
Venue: The Mulberry Hall at St Margaret’s House, 21 Old Ford Road — E2 9PL
Group Size: 13 Participants
Access: If you have any access needs of which we should be aware, please get in touch with us on 020 8980 2092 or email programming@stmargaretshouse.org.uk.
Date: Sunday 18th October
Time: 12.45-2.15pm
Tickets:
Workshop:
Pay Less (covers some of our costs) – I am a student, unemployed, on benefits or financially stressed - £6
Standard (covers most of our costs) – I am employed, have some expendable income, and manage to meet my basic needs - £10
Pay it Forward (covers all of our costs and supports our work) – I am employed or have enough savings to comfortably meet my basic needs - £14
Workshop + General Admission:
Pay Less (covers some of our costs) – I am a student, unemployed, on benefits or financially stressed - £10
Standard (covers most of our costs) – I am employed, have some expendable income, and manage to meet my basic needs - £18
Pay it Forward (covers all of our costs and supports our work) – I am employed or have enough savings to comfortably meet my basic needs - £26