question

unforunately

I laid my hands on the first Indian edition of Vogue QUITE some time back. I have been wanting to put up my favourite bits. Present future tense.

cabbage patch

tagged

I've been tagged by dreamecho who has an enviable sense of style and a brillant fashion diary. I thought it as bad news because I cannot not possibly have seven interesting facts about myself to tell. But I had a day full of nothing to do and went to deep self intropection. Here the final seven hopefully intriguing snippets of myself worth printing.

1. I get very uncomfortable in open spaces, around open windows and doors, strong winds,etc. I prefer dark, boxy spaces.

2. I detest making or receiving phone calls, even to or from my closest friends and family. I rather have conversations in person. I have to plan what I intend to say when making a phone call and generally have the urge to put down the phone the moment I say hello.

3. I secretly wanted to be a baton twirler or a gymnast when I was growing up. For very obvious reasons I did not become one.

4. I cannot, yet, bring myself to buy an expensive garment though I would willingly fork out the amount for shoes. My most expensive piece of clothing is striped jersey dress (Rs.3000=$75). Totally not worth it but it was a desperate situation.

5. I have two tattoos and a love/ hate relationship with them.

6. Every month when I'm PMSin, I devour a sappy romance novel in two hours, think happy thoughts for a while then chastise myself for being so corny and banish the book from my sight. Every month. I'm part of a vicious cycle.

7. Nothing makes me happier than a cup of tea. Anytime, anywhere and any kind.
So as to continue the chain I'm tagging
baliga for she always speaks her mind and it might be interesting to hear what she has to say.
diana at so fash'on who is a seamstress, photographer, stylist, artist, owner of a huge fashionable wardrobe. lovely.
and i'm going to leave it at these two.

the week that was

I'm becoming such a pro at procrastination. India just had the first of its two, (yes we have two) spring/summer 08 fashion weeks. Wills Lifestyle India fashion week (Delhi) celebrated it's tenth year, while Lakme fashion week (Mumbai) to be held sometime in October is a more recent development.

For years, Indian fashion fraternity have been doing what they are best at. Indian embroideries, lots of embellishment, sequins and largely ethnic attire consisting of the salwar kurtas, churidars, sarees, ghagras, etc. But slowly the western ideas, silhouette and ways of living have filtered in. Thus, designers are now are trying to amalgamate the rich history of Indian culture and the easy urbane styles of the west. Not very convincingly yet, but then I cannot imagine it is easy. India has often provided inspiration to the west, but still a long way before it is reckoned as one of THE fashion capitals. For one, very few Indian designers have a trademark by which they can be identified season after season and because of which it is difficult to create a loyal fanbase. Second the styling and accessories tend to be lacklustre or blatantly "inspired". But I'm sure given some more exposure we will get there soon.

Just to throw some more light on what Indian designers are doing, I picked nine designers worth a dekko.
Varun Sardana

I think it's his first time at fashion week, but he shows remarkable promise. His collection called 'The Grammar of Seeing' was inspired by the philosophy of Austrian painter & architect Hundertwassen. Embellishment designed to create organised chaos and graphic representation.

Aparna & Norden Wangdi

Primary coloured and stark. Pouchy paperbag like silhouette. Infused with childishness, with literal inspiration from ragdolls. Upbeat ethnic texture.

Varun Bahl

Largely, a metallic dusky colour palette (a huge trend) and fabrics like linen, muslin, crepe and mesh. Overall "pretty futuristic" and clearly spelling SPRING.


Namrata Joshipura

Her show was slightly predictably sweet. Clean lines and spotty sequined prints. Elements of retro pop. And I will not pretend to ignore the last seasons' Versace and 3.1Philip Lim-like shoes.

Rajesh Pratap Singh

He is always quietly creative and this time was no different. Muted grey with subtle underlinings of red, lime green, yellow. Sheen on fabrics, techno edged and the rare androgyny.


Gauri & Nainika

I wouldn't be surprised if Carolina Herrera was on the list of favourites of these two sisters. Sharp lines and Mondrian inspired prints but moulded into feminine curves. High maintenance petticoats and layers of tulle make them obviously occassion wear.


Tarun Tahiliani

One of the stalwarts of the Indian fashion, Tarun Tahiliani loves his drapes and adds the opulent touch to all his creations. This is time it is Kutch to Kenya with tribal influences of both places, models marching like brave warrior princessess. Lots of ivory, beige, peachy skin, jersey lycra and washed linens.

Shantanu & Nikhil

Banares provided inspiration to this duo if form of the rich fabric and the sacred thread tied on the wrist. Generous dollops of all kinds of yellow. But compared to their last season's collection this was a bit of a letdown. I hope they spring back soon.


Rohit Bal

His show got the coveted finale spot. His inspiration was the city of Constantinople and the Byzantine. Again ivory tones that progressed into litmus blue, citrus green, brown and black.Origami folds and huge frothy tulle shapes. Indulgent and over the top, but he missed expermenting with the men's silhouette. Also the occassional appearance of superwoman costumes which I'm still trying to figure out why.

Overall I'm quite disappointed with this season's collections. Last season had more sign of creative brillance. A lot of my other favourties did not show. And apparently business was poor because of the close proximity of the New York fashion week. Maybe Lakme Fashion week has some goodies in store.

streaks of nature

highly waisted

jealous much.

pic from facehunter.blogspot.com

How does mr. facehunter meet so many visually stimulating people in a day?

Anyway, I am completely in awe of the simplicity and confidence of the lady in green. Layering is easy, often anything and everything goes. The challenge according to me is walk out of my home wearing just a single piece of clothing. My natural urge is, "Isn't it too little? Why do I feel so underdressed?". As I reach for an accessory or garment to add on to my ensemble, I hope someday I feel good enough about myself not to depend on the extras.

mondrian

A Dutch painter, Piet Mondrian provided inspiration to one of fashion's greats, Yves Saint Laurent for his iconic collection in 1965/66. Piet Mondrian started out with landscapes but proceeded to be inspired by the foundation of nature to create deceptively simple "compositions". These compositions as he liked to call them consisted of rectangles of primary colours- red, yellow and blue, and white or black, outlined by bold black lines. Intrigued by Cubism but not exactly a member of the movement, he belonged to the movement of neo-plasticsm which believes that art should not be a copy of real objects but the expression of the absolutes of life. And the absolutes of life according to them are horizontal and vertical lines.

He said "I construct lines and color combinations on a flat surface, in order to express general beauty with the utmost awareness. Nature (or, that which I see) inspires me, puts me, as with any painter, in an emotional state so that an urge comes about to make something, but I want to come as close as possible to the truth and abstract everything from that, until I reach the foundation (still just an external foundation!) of things…
I believe it is possible that, through horizontal and vertical lines constructed with awareness, but not with calculation, led by high intuition, and brought to harmony and rhythm, these basic forms of beauty, supplemented if necessary by other direct lines or curves, can become a work of art, as strong as it is true."

In 1965/66 Yves Saint Laurent showcased his Mondrian collection to audience who loved it. It paved the way for colour blocking and high contrast in garments and spawned many look-alikes. If you get lucky on E-bay and land one of the originals in high quality geometrically blocked wool jersey, good for you!

facehunter snapped these ladies sporting mondrian and mondrian like art.