Priyanka Chopra should have worn a saree, says Jaya Jaitly

Priyanka Chopra and (inset) Jaya Jaitly

Textile revivalist Jaya Jaitly has hit out at Priyanka Chopra for dressing in Western wear at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. She wrote on social media, "How sad an Indian actor attending the royal wedding in UK should dress like a British aristocrat at Ascot rather than represent a free and independent India in a beautiful sari (sic)."

Jaitly has reportedly further said, "Actors dress up in fancy gowns by fancy designers who pay them for wearing their outfits. Just like Priyanka has the right to wear whatever she wants, I have the right to express my opinion." Priyanka Chopra had opted for a lilac Vivienne Westwood outfit for the wedding and a shiny golden Christian Dior gown for the reception. Jaitly feels a kanjeevaram or a Banarasi saree would have worked wonders for PeeCee.

Jaitly told IANS: "All these actors, they dress up in all these fancy gowns by fancy designers who pay them for wearing their outfits and so they get fat money. Now, I keep feeling as I am loyal to our weavers and our textiles in India and we are working all our lives to revive it... We never attach a human being (the weaver's name) with the brand name unless it has a designer's name.

As Founder and President of Dastkari Haat Samiti, an art and craft market to enable rural artisans of traditional Indian crafts to gain confidence in the marketplace through many innovative strategies, Jaitly has been at the forefront of promoting Indian handicrafts and textiles.

She questions why Indian actresses wear western gowns to red carpet events abroad. "Even in Hollywood (red carpets), where if I see Deepika Padukone wearing long gowns... they never really can compete. It's like Indian fashion designers trying to do western dresses... Why don't they wear most beautiful gorgeous sari, and everyone will go 'wow'."

Also read: Priyanka Chopra urges the world to care for Rohingya refugees

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

Edited by mid-day online desk with inputs from IANS