Sabyasachi Mukherjee Apologizes after His First Statement on Women and Fashion but Sets Record Straight in Second

Renowned fashion designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee was recently taken to task by netizens for making a statement on women who overly dress in any aspect. He said that many women wear heavy make-up, adorn heavy jewellery and wear loud clothes to fill in the void in their lives. There are high chances that she’s wounded and therefore he advised people not to judge instead show compassion. 

In his own words, he stated, “If you see a woman “overdressed”, caked with make-up, armoured with jewellery, it is most likely that she is wounded. Bleeding inside, silently. Holding on to her pride and dignity, shining for the world, though within her innermost being there is a dark, blinding pain.”

Some readers who came across the designer’s post were fuming especially the womenfolk. One woman posted, “Dude, you’re a designer, not a frigging therapist. Please stick to what you are supposed to be doing, instead of unloading such nonsense on social media. Going by your logic, all of the Bollywood Divas you dress are broken and damaged! Sheesh.”  While there were others who understood his message. Another woman wrote, “You are so right. I have been there….done that.”

After a stream of hateful messages, Sabyasachi wrote another post where he straightened up the mess. He explained that the first statement was a blanket statement. He explained that his message was a message of love and empathy however it was not articulated correctly and he apologized for it. He didn’t stop there though. He said that he hesitated to write this post but sometimes as people in power we have to set the record straight.”

He rephrased and enhanced the first message saying that “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 shouldn’t judge women for their fashion choices as there may be a larger reason behind this. 

I agree with the designer’s thoughtful message. Not all but some women do dress loud to fill the void in their lives. She could be battling numerous problems in life such as conflicts in marriage, difficult in-laws, lack of support system or maybe she’s battling health problems. Women have their own coping mechanisms to deal with challenges in life and using fashion to make themselves feel better is one of them. Yes, it is a form of therapy for many and there is nothing wrong in it. 

Mind you, not all women fall in this bracket. The designer has made this point clear in his second statement not to cause confusion in what he’s intending to express. Many women use fashion, make-up and art to feel empowered, to feel confident, as a form of self-expression and to enhance their overall appearance. So, no way the designer is being biased however he’s asking us to read between the lines and offer warmth and empathy wherever necessary. 

Fashion as a form of therapy is not only a route for many women but for many men as well. The designer himself admitted that he used bold fashion to fight depression for seven years when he was a teenager. He was judged and bullied for his loud fashion choices. Moreover, the designer interacts with women in his industry from various walks of life on a daily basis at a closer level. So, this is where the message is coming from.

The loud prints, the loud make-up and the heavy jewellery might be a way to make life tad brighter for some women and men. As a society let’s not come to conclusions about anyone based on their fashion choices instead show warmth as a human being if you have the slightest doubt.