Country’s leading name in fashion Tarun Tahiliani put on a dramatic show at Kalyan Jewellers M4Marry's Wedding Fashion Week 2018 to display his bridal collection for the season. The designer had some yarns to spin and give some insight into the depth of Indian fashion.
Politics spun the fabric of state
Does anyone give a thought to the political history of your choice of clothing when you put on any piece? Tahiliani stated Kerala is the most subtle in terms of style among all the south Indian states. This sense of subtlety could have been infused in Kerala's culture owing to its socialist ethos, he guessed. And that subtlety has gone into its lifestyle that birthed such delicate summer fabrics. A tropical climate being an add-on to that effect.
Further decoding Kerala weaves Tahiliani said that these fabrics are much more suited for day-wear, but they would not figure into evening attires unless a lot of detailing was done. "There's a gossamer-ness to it," Tahiliani remarked. But the casualness of Kerala's fashion has also left it as the least documented one, the connoisseur observed.
Discarding is passe
A lot of brands abroad, have burnt their unsold out-of-fashion produce for years and even gotten insurance for it. Tahiliani is not blindly critical of and has practical solution to this problem that faces the fashion industry, especially the bridal wear which people tend not to wear more than once. Every designer, including Chanel, announces an end-of-the-season sale. It works because people want to wear fashion for different reasons, Tahiliani felt, while claiming Indian dress is devoid of this disadvantage.
"Our clothes are timeless. You can wear them after 20 years and be trendy, if you look after them," he added, listing his contribution to this green practice. "As far as bridal wear is concerned, contrary to what you think, in India, you can make four outfits out of that. Today, girls are wearing lehengas with satin shirts and drape-tops or wear choli with a plain chiffon saree or they wear the dupatta with a plain kurta."
The celebrity designer felt there is no reason for women not to rehash and reuse their entire wardrobe if they have the confidence to carry it. Young Indian women, because they wear both Indian and Western, are much more confident and have a great ability to carry anything, he noticed.
Affordable fashion
As per the ace designer, India is the only country where one can spend Rs 2,000 to look like a million bucks. Indian fashion is, therefore, free of myths.
At the show, Tarun presented a slide on tribal Kutch women wearing bold-coloured local handloom. They, according to the designer, are more stylish than girls in metropoles trying to look modern. "You see such women at temples, some of them are fisherwomen. They wear kajal, they wear handloom, they wear fresh flowers and they look stunning. They don't need a designer," he quipped.
Tahiliani also remarked it will be a tragedy if India started to 'import' fashion.
