 This is a story about a living legend. A legend that dates back to the Indus Valley civilization. A legend that has captured the world's imagination and a legend that grows more dynamic with each passing day. Presenting India's most iconic garment. The handcrafted Indian saree. The Indian saree's first international debut was in the 1950s when Valentino created the saree dress. Ever since, the saree has ruled the international red carpet and even made little appearances in Hollywood films. Back in India, Bollywood chronicled the changing face of the Indian saree with simple handcrafted cottons back in the 60s giving way to shimmering sequins, heavy-duty embroidery and of course, the eternal song and dance attire. The sensuous saree. But what is it that makes this unstitched garment so popular with style icons? Let's ask its true ambassadors who've always preferred the saree to the famous little black dress. Saree for me has obviously been a favourite choice in terms of whatever I was asked about the most elegant formal wear. I've always been partial to it. It's the one garment that does complete justice to the woman's body. It celebrates the woman's body, accentuates her curves and it has that nice tease element, you know, where it covers the right amount and shows the right amount. Every region therefore brings forward a trunk full of sarees. Each with a formidable identity and a strong socio-cultural influence. Not only region, but in some places even from village to village there's a different weave, there's a different saree and I think that that's what's very interesting and yes, it's a visiting card but it's also a history book because each saree tells you about that region, about the community that made it even about the sort of the geography of the place. The art of Kantha stitching, for example, has been kept alive for centuries by the women of West Bengal. Using a needle and thread, these women narrate their dreams and desires in a Kantha saree. The Kantha saree is a more recent phenomenon. In earlier times, precious silk and muslin and even pieces of old sarees would be patched and stitched together as quilts and because this was done at leisure, these women expressed their emotions through the running stitches. Banaras is often called the oldest living city in the world, a symbol of the Hindu Renaissance and a melting pot of Indian civilization. It is the Aryans that get credit for introducing brocade weaving to Banaras. At that time, real gold and silver threads were used to make brocade which was worn exclusively by royalty. Banaras started off more as patkas which the men used to wear as scarves or the ladies used to wear as sort of oldenies or for their langas and skirts. But it was always then, you know, when a place becomes famous for something, their migrants come, so they were migrant weavers who came from Gujarat. They were even weavers who came from China, they were weavers who came from South India and it became a very living place. The silk saree tradition of Kanchipuram, the temple town of Tamil Nadu goes back to the 3rd century BC when the Pallava dynasty started ruling the territory. The handcrafted tradition is based on strong contrast colors with stark golden integrated weaves known as Zari. In most households here, weaving is a family enterprise, a skill and technique handed down from one generation to another. There are two small rivers flowing at the outskirts of Kanchipuram. One river by name Pallar, other river by name Behavadi. From those days on, still today, we use only those river water for bleaching and coloring the silk thread. The water gives shining to the silk thread. Interestingly, the garment that goes back to the Indus Valley civilization still has the ability to reinvent itself. Many Indian and international designers have given the saree a modern twist. Today, trousers sarees, sarees with belts and jackets are probably a more practical answer for the contemporary woman. As is the Chotu saree designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee. For research of costumes for the Bollywood film called Ravan, it stars Aishwarya Rai and I had to dress her up as a woman who was trapped in a tribal village. And as I went, I saw that a lot of them had almost simple geometrical sarees in very small lengths, primarily because I think it was easier for them to move around the forest. And I decided that why not crop the length of the sarees because that would be a radical change. And here would also, you know, one of the big complaints that I felt I've heard about the saree is that a lot of people say that, you know, you can't really run up and catch a bass in a saree. But in a Chotu saree, you can actually wear a pair of sneakers and you can. So whether it's a traditional or an in-your-face modern of tar, the saree never fails. We have changed from a nine yard saree to a six yard saree. Today we are wearing a two and a half yard pole. You know, the whole Indian look of, you know, wearing a necklace, wearing bangles, wearing jean earrings and a saree is just spectacular always. The saree is the only garment that celebrates you the way you are. You can refashion it to your own needs. Saree is much more than a bit of fashion. It's something which actually held society together and led to so much of the cultural and aesthetic development of this country. And perhaps for many more centuries to come.