Best Banarasi Saree Brands in India 2026: Where to Buy an Authentic Banarasi

There is probably no garment in India that is more copied than the Banarasi saree. The real thing is woven on a handloom in and around Varanasi, sometimes over weeks, with motifs lifted into the silk by a weaver working from a punched-card pattern. The copy is woven on a power loom in a fraction of the time, sometimes nowhere near Varanasi, and sold under exactly the same name. In a photograph, they can look identical.

So "where to buy a Banarasi saree" is really two questions: who sells the real thing, and how do you know. This guide answers both, and — with our interest stated plainly — shows the Banarasi pieces we make, which are embroidered in Jaipur on Banarasi silk rather than woven by us.

The Types of Banarasi You Will Be Offered

• Katan — pure silk, plain-woven, the classic heavy Banarasi base. Usually the most expensive.
• Kora (organza) — a sheer, crisp silk woven with zari motifs. Lighter and more contemporary.
• Georgette Banarasi — softer, lighter drape, popular for younger buyers and summer weddings.
• Tissue — zari woven into the weft for an all-over metallic shimmer.
• By design: jangla (dense all-over floral), butidar (scattered small motifs), tanchoi (motifs woven in coloured silk rather than zari), and cutwork (floats cut away on the reverse).

For the history and how the fabric differs from its southern cousin, see our guides to Banarasi silk and Banarasi versus Kanjivaram.

Buying in Varanasi

If you can travel, the city itself is still the best place to buy. The weaving families are concentrated in neighbourhoods like Madanpura, Peeli Kothi and Lallapura, and the retail lanes around Chowk and Godowlia are lined with saree shops. The advice every local will give you: be wary of anyone who brings you to a shop, ask to see the weave in progress if you are buying directly, and ask for the GI tag and Silk Mark (more on both below).

Indicative price: ₹8,000 for a simple butidar to well over ₹1,00,000 for a heavy katan jangla
Best for: The widest choice and the best price for genuine handloom.

Heritage and Specialist Labels

Ekaya Banaras

A Varanasi weaving family business turned national label, working directly with weavers and known for making the Banarasi feel current — lighter weights, new colours, collaborations — without leaving handloom.

Indicative price: ₹20,000–2,00,000
Best for: Contemporary handloom Banarasi you can buy with confidence.

Tilfi Banaras

A Banaras-based label built around handloom and revival of older weaves, with strong storytelling about the weavers and techniques behind each saree. Good for tanchoi, kadhua and heritage patterns.

Indicative price: ₹15,000–1,50,000
Best for: Heritage weaves, transparency about technique.

Raw Mango

Sanjay Garg's label, which works with weaving clusters including Varanasi, and is known for unexpected colour and minimal, architectural design on traditional weaves.

Indicative price: ₹20,000–1,00,000
Best for: Modern colour, understated design.

Taneira (Tata)

A large handloom-focused saree brand with stores across many cities and a sizeable Banarasi range. Its value is consistency and the backing of a large company when it comes to fabric claims.

Indicative price: ₹8,000–80,000
Best for: Trying in a store, dependable fabric labelling.

Traditional saree houses

The big family saree stores in every major city carry Banarasis alongside their silks, and many sell online. Ask specifically for handloom and for the certification — their range usually includes power-loom pieces too, at lower prices.

Indicative price: ₹5,000–1,00,000
Best for: In-person comparison across price points.

Designer Banarasi

Almost every major Indian designer uses Banarasi fabric, and Sabyasachi in particular has built a significant part of the brand's wedding vocabulary on it. At this level you are paying for the design and the embroidery layered on top of the weave, rather than the weave itself. Multi-designer stores like Pernia's Pop-Up Shop and Aza are the easiest place to compare. Our roundup of the best designer saree brands covers the wider field.

Our Banarasi Pieces

We are not weavers, and we will not pretend to be. What we do is take Banarasi silk and add hand embroidery by our karigars in Jaipur — which gives you the weave and the embroidery together, at a price below most designer Banarasi. Each piece is made to order over 4–5 weeks.

The Phalgun & Myra saree (₹27,500) is yellow Banarasi silk with floral motifs woven in silver thread and a rich lace border, paired with the Myra ivory blouse embroidered in floral butis and sequins. The Rahi & Amara saree (₹24,500) is fuchsia pink Banarasi silk with floral motifs woven in gold thread and a gold lace border, with a champagne stripe silk blouse embroidered with sequins. The Zariya saree (₹22,595) takes a soft mint green Banarasi base and adds diagonal bands of sequins and gota in antique gold, with a pink selvedge — light and fluid, the one for a daytime function.

Banarasi beyond the saree

A Banarasi does not have to be a saree. The Rehmat & Vasl lehenga (₹42,500) is rich red Varanasi silk brocade with all-over gold zari and a broad gold border. The Suroor anarkali (₹22,775) is bandhej Banarasi silk with woven gold bootis and sequin embroidery inspired by temple jewellery. The Alfia & Ruhab kurta set (₹33,750) is Banarasi with gold floral bootis in a relaxed silhouette. And the Raat Rani blazer set (₹16,500) is black Varanasi silk brocade with an all-over gold jaal, cut as a fitted blazer and wide-leg pant — Banarasi for a cocktail evening.

If you already own a plain Banarasi, the Abeer blouse (₹11,495) is bandhani Banarasi silk with paisley and floral embroidery in sequins, cutdana and resham — made to measure. Our Banarasi styling guide has more ways to wear one.

How to Tell a Real Handloom Banarasi

• Ask for the GI tag. Banaras Brocades and Sarees carry a Geographical Indication. A genuine GI-certified saree comes with a tag that has a hologram and serial number.
• Ask for the Silk Mark. Issued by the Silk Mark Organisation of India, it certifies pure silk. Newer tags carry a QR code.
• Turn it over. A handloom Banarasi shows floating threads and small irregularities on the reverse where the weaver changed colour. A power-loom saree is perfectly uniform, and often has a smooth, backed reverse.
• Look at the selvedge. Handloom selvedges are usually slightly uneven; power-loom selvedges are ruler-straight.
• Feel the weight. A katan silk Banarasi is heavy and cool. A very light "Banarasi" at a low price is almost certainly a blend.
• Ask about the zari. Most Banarasi zari today is tested zari — silver-coated or metallic thread, which is normal and fine. Real gold-and-silver zari is rare and priced accordingly. Our guide to real zari versus imitation covers the tells.
• Be suspicious of the price. A heavy handloom katan Banarasi takes a weaver weeks. If the price does not account for that, it is not a handloom katan.

Frequently Asked Questions