Spotted on the speed-dials of stars, saree draper Dolly Jain has been designing dreams with six yards of fabric!

Her earliest memories of sarees are tied to her mother’s wardrobe, where she spent hours dressing up her dolls. Little did she know then that those innocent moments of play would shape her destiny! Today, the world knows her as a drape artist whose canvas is a six-yard-long saree.

Dolly Jain is a professional saree draper, known for her notable drapes. Her niche clientele includes Bollywood divas Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Priyanka Chopra, Sonam Kapoor and more. She has draped former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, Natasha Poonawala and Sridevi among others. She takes pride in dressing up ladies from prominent Industrial families such as Neeta Ambani, Isha Ambani Parimal, Shloka Ambani Mehta, Usha Mittal and Sangeeta Jindal. The drape queen has made it to The Limca Book of Records for being the fastest saree draper with 360 draping variations! The Kolkata-based draper is six-yards ahead of her time. “With every six yards, I see 360 possibilities of drapes; folds and pleats. “There’s a drape for every personality, every occasion and every mood. I have visualised them all!”

Dolly’s triumph was rooted in a tragedy. Growing up as a bright child in Bengaluru, Dolly’s life took an unexpected turn when she had to drop out of school in the 7th grade due to health issues. Life seemed to have closed a door, but Dolly found a window in the world of saree draping.

After she was married off at a young age into a traditional family in Kolkata, she was expected to wear only sarees. “In the initial days, my experience was not great because I hated sarees,” laughs Dolly, adding, “I think I slowly fell in love with this interesting garment — the fabric is so fluid and draping it covers one in the right amount. And, that’s how the initial draping sojourn started.”

Dolly’s journey was fraught with a lot of societal criticism. “A lot of people did not accept this as a career. Some even thought I’d gone mad. I had to hear comments like, ‘Dolly is just wasting her time and she will not be able to make any money out of this. It is just a phase and she’ll forget it very soon,’” reminisces the saree expert and draper extraordinaire.

Saree draping, after all, wasn’t considered an art form — just a daily routine for millions of women across the country. But true artists have a way of turning the ordinary into extraordinary. So, Dolly persisted for 18 long years; achieving one milestone at a time. From the saree worn by Alia Bhatt when she received the National Award, to Nita Ambani’s elegantly draped sarees at the wedding festivities of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, Dolly’s draping technique has left an indelible mark on the fashion world.

Known for her excellent draping and styling tricks, insightful tips and making the six-yard look sensual and effortless as ever, Dolly is quite an Instagram sensation with around 2 million followers. She also holds multiple records, including one for draping a saree in just 18.5 seconds! Dolly’s story is a reminder that art isn’t always found in the expected places. Sometimes, it’s woven into the very fabric of our lives, waiting for someone to bring

it to life.