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Fashion | Music | Spirituality | Textiles
Indian FashionWestern culture is developing a grand love affair with the distinctive fashion style that is India. Along with Indian music and spirituality, Indian fashion is having a huge impact on the mainstream identities of western style and culture. The latest designer shows from Armani, Fendi, and Miyake all draw on elements from the exotic Indian culture. In Paris Dries Van Noten, one of the new fashion leaders and member of the so-called Belgian Four, presented a collection of layered chiffon wraps, dresses, saree, and kurta look-alikes. The color palette these western designers are drawing from is as vibrant as a Rajastan desert at sundown, using rich golds, reds, and greens. Indian designers like Sunita Shankar, Monisha Jaising, Ravi Bajaj and Krishna Mehta are leading the way in redefining Indian fashion. Look at samples of their designs at www.fashionindia.net. Rohit Bal presented his latest collection, Sanskrit, at a New York benefit gala organized by Children's Hope, and stunned the audience with exquisite embroidery, beadwork, and tie-dye fashions with a decidedly Indian flair. Many U.S. design companies are taking Indian fashion and transforming it for western audiences. Silk Threads in Dallas, TX is a premier provider of dresses based on Indian design. Traditional Indian ClothingIndians express themselves a great deal through their clothing. Their spiritual quest for perfection plays a role in their choices of beautifully colored, dramatic, and flowing garments. The styles speak to the spirit with sumptuous, vibrant colors woven into the intricate and ornate designs to be found resonating throughout India. SareeThe saree is an extremely versatile garment. It simply consists of a single, rectangular piece of material, five to six yards in length, accommodating any size. The style, color, and texture of this material vary according to region and caste. Different draping styles convey the status, age, occupation, region, and/or religion of the wearer. CholiThe tightly fitted complimentary colored, short blouse worn under a saree is a choli. Originally, cholis only covered the front, now they have evolved to include versions covering front and back to midriff. The traditional form is still commonly worn in Rajastan. LehangaThis is a pleated skirt worn mostly in Rajastan. Worn with a choli, it is secured at the waist, leaving the back and midriff bare. A length of fine cotton called a dupatta, completes the ensemble, covering the head. Salwar-KameezStarted as an alternative dress form in Kashmir and Punjab, it has grown in popularity all over India, especially with younger women. Salwars are pajama-like trousers gathered at the waist and ankles, worn underneath a long, loose tunic known as a kameez. LungiTraditional men’s clothing in India consists solely of a lungi or dhoti. A lungi is a short length of material worn around the thighs like a sarong, while a dhoti is simply a longer lungi with an extra piece of material drawn up between the legs. If you are interested in more information about Indian styles of dress and fashion, we suggest the following books and Web sites:
Clothing Matters: Dress and Identity in India by Emma Tarlo, University of
Chicago Press, 1996
www.indiafashion.com
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