What is a Banarasi saree?

A Banarasi is defined by its weave, not its fibre. It is a brocade woven in and around Varanasi in which an extra — supplementary — weft, usually zari, is worked into the ground cloth to build the motif.

The ground can be katan silk, organza, tissue or cotton. That is why “Banarasi silk” and “Banarasi organza” are both correct and describe very different garments, and why this catalogue records weave and fibre as separate fields.