Ardent patrons of homegrown textiles, superior garments and spectacular gems—history is witness to the global influence of Indian princesses. Emeralds the size of pigeon’s eggs, Schiaparelli gowns aplenty, and saris woven in pure gold—luxury was a totally different ball game for these women. Although in possession of immense wealth, it was their refined taste that made some of these Indian princesses and maharanis stand out in the pages of history. While the late Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur may be a more familiar figure who immediately comes to mind, her predecessors were equally proficient in deliberately straying from conventional style norms and introducing it to the women of Indian society at a time when restrictive customs such as the pardah system existed. Here, we paint a cohesive picture of India’s maharanis, their iconic style and how it garnered the attention of designers, legacy brands and publications from all over the world.
Princess Karam of Kapurthala (1915- 2002)
The sari makes a cameo in the pages of Vogue Paris’ April issue in 1935 which lists the catalysts of the season’s grand couture, and among them is the mention of an “Indian princess who spends the day with us.” It is accompanied by a black and white illustration of a woman draped in a Schiaparelli taffeta coat threaded with gold that “evokes the Hindu Sari” and covers the wearer’s head—a direct nod to the pallu that is often used as a ghunghat. The facing page portrays a similar illustration of a chiffon dress embroidered in metal by Alix (also known as Madame Grès), inspired by the sari.
It wouldn’t be a wild assumption that the Indian princess commended in this issue is Princess Karam of Kapurthala who became a muse for couturier Elsa Schiaparelli during the summer of 1934 when she arrived in Paris in a sari (The Sari in Paris Fashion: 1910 to 1940 by Jaya Misra). This is evidenced by the designer’s subsequent collection of evening gowns in 1935, titled ‘Stop, Look and Listen’, made with draped fabrics that circled the body. Of these, the popularity of a particular design made with black rayon and incorporating pink and yellow embroidered borders even led to its retail in Bergdorf Goodman’s in the US (The Impact of Traditional Indian Clothing on Italian Fashion Design from Germana Marucelli to Gianni Versace). The echoes of this collection are palpable even today, a red hooded dress that gathers at the bottom is available on Schiaparelli’s website with a caption that reads, “Inspired by reveries of the young Princess Karam of Kapurthala’s beautiful sari.”
Her impeccable taste in clothes, her distinctive features and her influence over the fashion scene—both in India and abroad—caught the eye of the editors of American Vogue, who photographed her in a series of portraits over the years, branding her as a “continental legend.” Her versatile ability to own both Indian and European styles of dressing can be witnessed through these images; be it in a quintessential sari and exquisite jewels or a black silver fox coat with emeralds and diamonds adorning her neck–Princess Karam exuded ease and charm. She often purchased from the creme de la creme of French couture; including Madeleine Vionnet, Jeanne Paquin, Coco Chanel and Jeanne Lavin (Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India by Angma Dey Jhala).
Princess Brinda of Kapurthala (1890- 1962)
Described as a person who is a “bit of a character, strong-minded and imperious,” in her biography titled Maharani: Memoirs of a Rebellious Princess, Princess Brinda was the wife of Paramjit Singh Tika Raka, the eldest son of the Maharaja of Kapurthala. Penned by Elaine Williams, the book gives us cues to her dazzling personality and beauty that had an aristocratic Parisian society in a chokehold in the 1920s and 30s, where the Princess frequently mingled with King Alfonso of Spain and Queen Marie of Romania, along with other renowned artists and musicians.
“Princess Brinda of Kapurthala, daughter-in-law of the Maharaja, had every woman green with envy. Her collection of jewels would make Tiffany and Cartier turn in their vaults. Emeralds the size of walnuts hung from her ears and diamond necklaces by the yard circled her throat,” reads a published article in Vanity Fair after the royal icon visited New York City in the same year. In the princess’s memoir, Williams also writes about her dignified sense of dressing that often mirrored certain European elements: “The maharani cut quite a dashing figure. She wore a Parisian outfit of a gleaming white satin tunic with flowing pants and ropes of pearls hanging over her neck.”
Despite the tumultuous experiences that shaped Maharani Brinda Devi’s life, including her fertility struggles to conceive a male heir after giving birth to three daughters, which ultimately led to the prince’s remarriage and her subsequent withdrawal from the royal family, she led her life on her own terms. Recounting a playful conversation, Williams describes an instance where she was blown away by the mammoth emerald ring set in gold that the princess wore, only for her to unabashedly reveal with a laugh that it was a faux stone from Paris. “People think it’s real. They can’t believe a maharani would wear a fake.”
Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar (1892- 1968)
Princess Brinda’s daughter Indira Devi followed her mother’s footsteps when it came to her wardrobe. While term ‘trendsetter’ is thrown around quite loosely today, she was its literal embodiment as the first woman to use French chiffon fabrics for saris. If it weren’t for her, some of the most iconic chiffon sari moments in Indian cinema encapsulated by Sridevi in Chandni or Alia Bhatt in Rocky and Rani Ki Prem Kahaani would perhaps not have had the same trajectory through history. Maharani Indira Devi’s choice to do so was considered all the more valiant and revolutionary at the time because the translucent textile was mainly associated with lingerie. One can only imagine the scandalous connotations that this trend may have brought up when it was first envisioned in the 19th century, but Indira Devi remained unfazed, cementing floral chiffon saris with traditional silver or gold borders as her signature.
Historian Angma Dey Jhala in her book Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India, also notes that the princess was an ardent lover of shoes, particularly from Salvatore Ferragamo—the Italian luxury maison known for their finesse in footwear— from whom she ordered more than 100 pairs. Out of these, one set was crafted in green velvet with a spiral of pearls circling its heels and the second pair was a black velvet number encrusted with a diamond buckle. Jhala also reveals that the princess often designed patterns with French textile maker Monsieur Erigua as well as the Paris-based firm Sarees Inc. to introduce European fabrics into the Indian market.
Maharani Sanyogita Devi of Indore (1914- 1937)
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Hand on hip and making unwavering eye contact with French artist Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Maharani Sanyogita Devi’s confident stance in one of her painted portraits catches your eye before her vibrant green nauvari sari does. Married to Yashwant Rao Holkar, who also shared her penchant for the finer things in life, the duo’s impressive collection of art-deco style paintings and furniture that they commissioned over the years was the subject of an entire exhibition in Paris’ Musée des Arts Décoratifs in 2020.
In another painting, she dons a pearly white satin Madeleine Vionnet dress, cinched at the waist with an embellished buckle, and a hefty emerald and diamonds necklace set for her by the French jewellery maison Maoboussin (The Sari in Paris Fashion: 1910 to 1940 by Jaya Misra) that wouldn’t look out of place if worn at the Cannes red carpet in the 21st century. The chic couple made regular appearances at soirees and balls in jazz-age Paris, dressed to the nines, and mirrored European style influences back home without sidelining Indian fashion but rather, combining the best of both worlds.
Maharani Chimnabai II of Baroda (1872- 1958)
Armed with a discerning eye for jewels and precious gems, Chimnabai of Baroda had a covetable personal collection that held pieces previously owned by Russian grand dukes and from her extensive foreign trips to Europe where she’d be accompanied by an Indian craftsman or Baroda’s senior court jeweller at all times (Source: Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India by Angma Dey Jhala). Her intention in doing so was not only to make informed purchases but also to boost the Indian gem trade by equipping indigenous jewellers with the knowledge of European jewellery and settings. She became a familiar face at the Cartier atelier, even inviting Jacques Cartier himself to Baroda in 1911, which in hindsight can be regarded as the genesis of a long-standing relationship that the brand would come to share with generations of Baroda’s royal family.
Her stately appearance is captured in the following description by a reverend on his visit to Baroda. “The Maharani is of middle height, but carries her head so proudly and yet so gracefully that she appears taller than she really is. Her carefully kept and abundant hair is hidden by a sari of white silk shot with gold, which falls over the perfect outline of her exquisite figure and is gathered between the knees, showing the ankles circled with pearls and the small bare feet, which are as beautifully kept as her hands. It was not till I had been with her for some time that I noticed the collar of emeralds as large as pigeons’ eggs round her neck, and the chain of priceless pearls that falls from her shoulders to the waist” (Royal Patronage, Power and Aesthetics in Princely India by Angma Dey Jhala).
Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda (1917 – 1989)
Not everyone can claim they sold a pair of emerald and diamond anklets to Harry Winston, a famed American jeweller, but Maharani Sita Devi of Baroda can. Her penchant for bijoux was no secret, she often gave stones from the royal family vault to be set by French luxury Maison Van Cleef & Arpels and was a regular client who often made her way into their boutique whenever she was in Paris. In 1950, she commissioned Jacques Arpels to create the Hindu necklace, featuring stones from the Baroda royal treasure. Amounting to more than 150 carats, it held 13 Colombian teardrop emeralds and portrays a blooming lotus flower in the centre surrounded by leaves and flower petals.
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