How Dolly Jain, the Celebrity Drape Artist Turned Regular Saree Draping into Her Profession

The Celebrity Drape Artist, Dolly Jain, who has just returned after draping the B-Town stars, Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, and the more recent Isha Ambani, Isha Ambani, for their Wedding and Reception. She holds the world record for draping Sarees in 325 ways and is the fastest Saree draper to make a Guinness record of 18.5sec.

The drape artist comes with a great eye for details and style, Dolly's work was featured in the Limca Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, World record, and Coca-Cola awards.  She is recognized internationally as well, for her work as a personal stylist for high profile clients and celebrities. 

Highly personable, with a great eye for style, Dolly's work was featured in the Limca Book of Records, Asia Book of Records, World record, Coca-Cola awards, and many others. Please find below a few images of her work. The versatile drape artist is recognized internationally as well, for her work as a personal stylist for high profile clients and celebrities. With an impressive Bollywood credit such as Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt, Anushka Sharma, Sonam Kapoor and top celebrity clients like Neeta Ambani, Shloka Mehta, Lakshmi Mittal, Sangeeta Jindal, Dolly Jain has an impressive oeuvre. She has also worked internationally in places like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Qatar, Singapore, and Paris with campaigns and special projects. In a tete-a-tete, Dolly shares more about her work and her aspirations.

BV: What inspired you to take up saree draping? Dolly Jain: I was never fond of Sarees, to be completely honest. I got married in a family where I was allowed to only wear a Saree. Then I thought “if this is my garment and I have to wear the only thing, then let me style this”. I started to wear Sarees in different drapes, and everybody started loving the way I carried my Saree and that’s how I got into it. I never thought I’d be able to take it up as a career but somehow this was how God has destined it. A passion finally turned into a profession. BV: How did it all start? How have you gathered your first 5 clients? Dolly Jain: It all started about 13 to 14 years back. There were set of 3 to 4 girls who wanted to learn the art of saree draping. So their parents called me up and asked me to teach them the same. When I started teaching them, I realized that there are different kinds of style that I know. The draping style is quite restricted when you try it on yourself but when you try it on others; there are so many styles to explore. There was one girl among them who happened to do a workshop in Raipur regarding some grooming course. In that workshop, she allotted a day for saree draping. That was like a huge stepping stone for me because from there I got my first wedding client and it was The Heera Group of Industries in Raipur. From there I started getting clients but never publicized it since there were no social media at that time. It was just word of mouth which started spreading and from there I got my clients. BV: Is saree the only thing you drape or you drape other fabrics as well? Dolly Jain: I don’t call myself a saree draper. I call myself a drape artist. Whether there is a saree, shawl, stole, dhoti, dupatta or a tie, it is all about the drape.   BV: Your thoughts on getting recognized in Limca Book of Records for draping a saree. Dolly Jain: Draping a saree in 125 styles, 225 styles, and 325 styles, all have been registered in Limca Book of Records. My journey wasn’t easy at all because people then were not open to the idea of a drape artist and to make a career out of it was very difficult. The profession was not really given due respect, but I followed my passion. But, things have certainly changed now. I am looked upon with a lot of respect now. More and more people come to me, seeking advice and appreciating me for my work.   BV: What are the pre-requisites you take into consideration before draping for your clients? Dolly Jain: Before draping a client, I understand her personality, the city where she hails from, the fabric of the saree and the body type – after calculating everything I chose the style which will compliment her. For Example, The draping style of a Delhi girl will be totally different from the draping style of a girl from Calcutta. BV: How much approximate time you would take to drape a fabric? Dolly Jain: I have a world record of draping a saree in 18.5 seconds but, I usually take at least 5 to 7 minutes to completely drape a saree.   BV: How do you manage professional and personal life? Dolly Jain: It is not easy to manage personal and professional life. Being a housewife initially, I wanted everyone to be happy. The profession I am in, it is very difficult to handle social and professional life. But with the support of my family, friends, and kids, I am sailing the boat.   BV: Would you please share your experiences working with celebrities? Dolly Jain: It is always new and good experiences. I would not say anybody has given me any such experience that I want to share but yeah, I like doing for celebrities because I always get a clear picture of what they want. Once you know the person, it is easy to work with them. It doesn’t take time to drape and redoing it. One line that I would want to mention is that I am so glad that I chose the road that is less traveled and that has made all the differences. My father was the only person who trusted me and now that I don’t have him anymore with me, I still feel he is there and so happy to see me being nurtured and flourishing so beautifully. All the celebs whom I have worked with have always been very nice to me. I believe, if you know your work well and you are confident about what you are doing, everybody, including the celebs respect you for your art. What celebrities wear is always scrutinized very closely. Having someone with a discerning eye to help celebrities dress for the flashing lights on the red carpet or snapshots with adoring fans is a requirement for any celebrity wanting to stay on the A-list. I feel greatly honored and proud when famous celebrities trust me with their styling! https://www.instagram.com/p/BrSt_qAjET0/ BV: Your success mantra Dolly Jain: My success mantra would be I never took rest until my good is better and better is best. So I think for everybody unless you don’t think your good is the best, just keep working hard.    BV:  Any piece of advice who would like to follow your footprints. Dolly Jain: Your talents are God’s Gifts to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. So just follow these lines and you will do justice to the beautiful life that is given to you.   To know more about Indian fashion and brands, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download our magazine, Spunky Indian for exclusive stories.