Tarun Tahiliani¡¯s designs for team India¡¯s Olympic uniforms slammed as ¡®cheap¡¯?and?¡®tacky¡¯

Tarun Tahiliani, a celebrated fashion designer, has failed to impress with his ikat-inspired outfits for India's delegation in the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Hours after Team India, clothed in national flag colours, floated down the River Seine during the Olympics' opening ceremony, the uniforms were criticized on social media as cheap and garish.

Who criticised the Olympian outfit created by Tarun Tahiliani?

Olympians outfits were desgined by Tarun Tahiliani | Image: X

¡°Hello Tarun Tahiliani! I have seen better Sarees sold in Mumbai streets for Rs.200 than these ceremonial uniforms you¡¯ve ¡®designed¡¯,¡± wrote Nandita Iyer, an X user. She described it as a haphazard combination of computerized prints, inexpensive polyester fabric, and tricolours.

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Others had similar sentiments. More than a few people recalled India's rich textile and handloom heritage while questioning why the team was presented in such a "shoddy" manner on such a major global forum.

¡°Crumpled kurtas, polyester printed sarees. Faded colours. Coming from the land of a hundred plus handloom fabrics, numerous outstanding weaves and vibrant colours. Travesty,¡± wrote X user Namita.

What did the Olympians wear to represent India in Paris?

Female athletes wore sarees | Image: X

Male athletes wore a white kurta-pyjama with a jacket with the saffron and green of the Indian tricolour. Female athletes wore sarees. Many people were startled and angered to learn that Tarun Tahiliani, a well-known designer, was responsible for the outfits.

Also read: Paris Olympics 2024: Who was the semi-naked blue man at the opening ceremony?

"This is the best Tarun Tahiliani could come up with?" We're used to our sportsmen looking so smart. "This feels like he phoned in the design," X user Ajay Kamath commented. Users were also puzzled why the designer used printed uniforms rather than actual ikat weaves.

How did the designer come up with his creation?

Tarun Tahiliani previously defended his decision to use ikat print rather than weave in an exclusive interview with The Hindu. The New Delhi-based designer said he chose ikat because it is "emblematic of a weaving tradition practised across the country."

To meet deadlines, his Tasva team had to rely on digital print ikat. The use of viscose over cotton was also strategic. Cotton would have been crushed severely. We chose viscose because it is a wood pulp fibre that allows you to breathe.

"It is cooler than silk," he explained. "We had to consider breathability because the athletes would be on a barge, in the heat, for up to five hours."

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