Hand Block Printed Chanderi Sari, India - Brigitte Singh

Working with partners from around the world, Google has used its Art Camera (only 20 worldwide) to capture the finest details of artworks in the highest resolution possible. The custom built device takes hundreds of close-up, Gigapixel images that are then stitched together to create an intensely detailed whole that reveals details that are hidden from the naked eye. This sari was photographed with the Art Camera - be sure to click on the zoom feature!

The sari's design is universal and limitless, referenced around the world for its drape, textile and history. It is versatile and adaptable to context, environment and culture, with its making directly tied to the livelihoods of millions of karigars (craftspeople).

Traditionally, it is a single piece of unstitched fabric with variable densities in its parts - with heavier weights allowing for it to drape correctly. Today, its definition includes textiles woven by mill or by hand, often with one density.

Border&Fall’s project is a non-profit cultural documentation of an incredible textile and garment contribution from India, intended to address a perception shift of the sari, which is often seen as staid, traditional, and increasingly worn only on formal occasions, particularly in urban India. This digital anthology of the sari drape will be released in the Fall of 2017 and will include over eighty how-to drape films (sixty images from these series are seen here).

Each drape is from a particular region in India, represented through fifteen states. Every drape stays true to its region, whereas the textiles and blouse pairings have been styled to represent a vision of the sari's changing presence.