FASHION is an urban, contemporary form of expression, a window to the personality of a people. Today, in India, this personality is evolving. Unlike the continually changing fashions of the West, which have been generally unparalleled either in antiquity or in other great civilizations until recent decades, in India the markets are too fragmented to be governed by one primary influence. India does not prescribe to the cycle of trends and the levels of integration which govern the industry in the West. Current signs do not suggest a change anytime soon either.

There is no country in the world where a traditional aesthetic in apparel continues to survive with such stubborn pride. Myriad festivals determine our spending patterns and this cultural identity is still predominant despite some Anglicization. In a sense, our indigenous tastes and customs continue to prevail. At this point the more jingoistic readers should feel free to sigh contentedly. However, the big proviso lies in the nature of our markets. We are still underdeveloped and at the very beginning of the road to organized retail.

The landscape and future may pan out very differently once the supply side forces and disposable incomes develop, as expected, over the next decade. Our forefather’s values of prudence and modestly may not survive a brasher age of opportunism and posturing.

In a rapidly evolving culture, the current generation of young Indians experience many different influences. Nevertheless, I believe that in conjunction with, and despite the huge foreign aesthetic stimulus, India has and always will define an identity for herself. This is already prevalent in her dress sense and broadly the influences come from the entertainment industry, history (both ancient and recent), fashion designers and large multinational brands.

We have our own film industry, which thrusts and hams its message into virtually every spending household. This in itself has a few competing styles, each intended for separate audiences. The oft-touted contradictions of India are manifest here as the same youth relate to both a melodramatic three-hour epic about a wedding as to a coming of age, hip road movie.

Our traditional luxury textiles are a significant part of our heritage. Some aspect of this has touched all our lives, usually through grandmothers and their vivid descriptions of benarasi, maheshwari, jamdani saris and an equally stern narration of the value of these family heirlooms. The epitome of quality and workmanship, they are arguably the most sophisticated textiles in the world. These are the origins of the Indian dressing aesthetic and should, therefore, remain an important part of our future.

The post-colonial dogma of self-sufficiency, coupled with what the visionaries of independence (yes, Mahatma Gandhi) have given us, what I coin, the craft culture. Millions of little huts all over India weave and process a cotton fabric, which is loved for its imperfections and worn with no small amount of philanthropic pride. This ‘movement’ includes using block prints and vegetable dyes, wearing chunky silver jewellery and kolhapuri chappals. This affection for craft aesthetics has not only been widely adopted as ‘India chic’, it has also led to the emergence of some of India’s best modern brands.

High fashion in India is the entertainment industry’s third most valuable property (after cricket and Bollywood) with respect to inches of column space and TV minutes it generates. Naturally there is a lot of attention bestowed upon its protagonists and the resulting noise is loud. Even though struggling with its still minute scale, fashion is becoming a breeding ground for talent and creativity, innovation and excellence. Although its outreach is currently comparatively shallow, fashion occasionally shows significant traction when an original voice emerges that people can relate to.

 

Jeans wear, multinational brands, malls, private labels are all here folks as kirana is heading toward nirvana. Their presence in metro India is significant and seems set to grow. Every week there are launches and promotions, each competing for eyeballs. The marketing budgets are fat and their actor ambassadors shine bright from billboards. However, their impact is still mixed. It seems that currently in India, this western style approach to clothing is very much price driven and restricted to a fairly straightforward product such as denims. Having said that, more and more young people are abandoning any niche alternative for the lure of Levis. These various genres are not mutually exclusive to one another. In fact, you are likely to see influences from them all in households with a comfortable disposable income. We are our parents’ children but now, more than ever before, we are also aware of our identity as global citizens. Although at times we approach our older customs of dress with long suffering looks, we also feel most comfortable and elegant in their sophistication. I will elaborate on the genres above, as this is not contradictory; it merely is what we wear today and who we are.

 

Craft campaigners: I affectionately start with this, as I would wager it is the bulk of the subscriber base of this magazine! The look comes from an egalitarian legacy of providing employment for millions of craftsmen who had little or no access to markets and distribution. With the advent of several government schemes and agencies such as the Khadi Gramudyog, this cottage industry has survived the last 60 years fairly effectively.

The result has bred an ideological fashion sense typified by thinkers carrying jholas and wearing crushed skirts. The inputs to these looks come from craft that is not too time consuming or expensive. These include block-printing traditions from Bagru and Sanganer in Rajasthan and Farroukhabad in UP, cotton ikats from Andhra, khadi from all over the country, bandhini and other dyeing techniques from Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The look is fun, quirky and alluring and perhaps, most importantly, very Indian and contemporary. It is almost a lifestyle statement to dress this way, more so since it also embraces a sense of modesty and rusticness. Perhaps this is a value system that has been passed down from the time of independence which we hold on to and cherish. Although it has certainly become more chic, the ethos of craft is very much relevant. More practically, the clothing is well suited to our climate. The fabrics are natural and light and the garments themselves are loosely cut. Also, the printed motifs and colours enable the wearer to dress up, if required. Except for the occasionally itchy kurta, this school of dress is very well suited to India.

The success and adoption of this aesthetic has spawned several brands. FabIndia and Anokhi are the forerunners and their corporate ethos is a telling story of the importance of philanthropy in all of this. The aesthetic is often copied by mass-produced private brands from large mills in Surat and sold in bulk. The competition from the copies does cannibalise opportunities for the genuine article but like with all things, they too will need to progress and adapt in order to remain relevant.

 

Bollywood: Admit it or not, the length and styles of our kurtas and pants fluctuate with what Kareena, Rani or some soap actress was last seen wearing. Film and TV serials are currently the strongest and most pervasive trend setters in Indian fashion. Although this often gives the purists much fodder to bemoan the garish and vulgar, its marketing clout is undeniable. Today you have Veer Zaara suits, Parineeta blouses, Bunty aur Babli dresses and Saif’s Kal Ho Na Ho look. Sushmita wearing flowing saris creates renewed interest in the unstitched garment; even songs (Sharara Sharara) are catalysts to fads.

Bollywood reaches all sections of the market, from the street stalls off Linking Road to the more chic boutiques in South Delhi’s Qutub area. Film merchandising has been gaining significant momentum with retail giants such as the Pantaloon group using films as principal vehicles for marketing collections and seasons. Fashion designers now design for films and use trends to influence their own collections. Multinational brands tap into the clout of celebrities to enable them to reach the Indian consumer. It is the entertainment of the masses, and given India’s vast landmass, this becomes a powerful aesthetic influence.

Bollywood has always mirrored the prevalent mood and culture of the nation, albeit with too many high pitch songs. During the early days of the freedom struggle, films echoed voices of nationalist leaders. Subsequently, there was a spate of historical epics which presented the glory of a richer society and peoples, perhaps during a time when there was a hungover sense of inferiority of colonialism. More recent decades have presented and played out the ideal society, people with conservative value systems, at a time when India was beset with social evils and a diminishing societal ethos.

Things have come a long way since then. Gone are the mandatory references to reverence and piety; along come the many lures of the capitalist big city and independent young people. The mantra is to get ahead and the productions are slick and aspirational. But also, there is an alternative voice emerging, which although a relatively small part of the big puzzle, is gaining ground. Films like Rang De Basanti and Dil Chahta Hai herald the alternative.

Therefore, the resulting impact on fashion and aesthetics is similarly structured. The most widespread trends are still garish and loud, but much more westernized. The traditional India-based stories are showered in tinsel and colour. However, there is a more restrained and stylish alternative emerging. An identity targeted at a more independent, liberal populace which seems to be growing fast and confidently.

 

Traditional luxury craft: In the 18th century, India was the world’s largest exporter of textiles. These were complex and advanced products for the time, both aesthetically and technologically. The military clout of the British empire ensured that the patronage and development was all but stopped in order to create a favourable balance of payments with the English exchequer. This meant that in terms of these crafts, our artisans were pretty much making exactly what their forefathers did, without progressing and addressing the needs of cultural evolution.

Where Italy was advancing technologically and making superior fabrics for the stitched garment, India, through those two centuries of neglect, had decimated some of the most exquisite traditions and skills. The craftsmen have over time been slowly isolated from patronage as the princely states have moved to becoming boutique hotels!

 

Today, we are at the cusp of a renewed prosperity and these very skills can become the most cherished part of our fashion sense in the world. However, there are some serious issues with this ambition. These luxury textiles were virtually all developed for the unstitched garment (maheshwaris, kanjivarams, patolas) and in today’s day, this loses applicability. Second, I have already pointed to the fact that these are not modern textiles that can hold up to international norms of scrutiny and quality as the other luxury textiles of the world can. Most importantly, they need the care and attention that only our own culture can bestow upon them. They need our patronage to continue.

We do have some very superior skills as is evident from the amount of handwork and embroidery we export to high-end shops all over the world. These skills of the hand have never been emulated by machine and there is certainly something to be said for that. But these aesthetics are sophisticated ones and it takes a certain education and exposure to appreciate them. I am not sure whether we are passing this on the way earlier generations did in India.

Skills are scattered in pockets all over India and traditionally a devout craftsman would measure his devotion and satisfaction by the beauty of the work he produced. It is questionable whether these values prevail in the new generation of artisans. In the realm of embroideries we have the excellent skills of Muslim zardozi artisans in the Gangetic belt. We also have chikankari and kutchhi embroideries which are a labour of love. Weaving schools abound from Benaras to Kanchivaram to Bengal. Skilled printers still produce exquisite kalamkari and cheent prints in the Andhra belt and in Rajasthan. But what does all this mean today?

 

Many of these areas have seen some rejuvenation in the past few years as local pockets of patronage and other channels such as fashion designers have begun to use these skills. Although several traditions and techniques have died, some are beginning to show signs of revival. However, the rejuvenation rarely comes as a demand for the highest quality and level of work; more likely these artisans are now making what they call ‘bazaar products’ which are inexpensive and for a mass market.

In terms of aesthetic, in my estimation, these textiles are unsurpassed. We have inherited a legacy from our feudal past and should look to preserve them. But as I mentioned, there needs to be an urgent influx of cultural intent for these to survive. Perhaps when our high-end designer-wear market comes of age, so will these textiles. The two go hand-in-hand as they both strive for perfection and sophistication. Failing this, the future could be bleak and that is a challenge for our generation.

 

High fashion: For many, this is an industry of showmen and waif-like models sporting improbable and culturally alien outfits. A section of society seems to have adopted western aspirations that are relied on to amuse us with at best a fuchsia-tinted view of the world around them. I remember, when I was new in the industry, some established designer telling me how pantsuits were the rage everywhere. Befuddled that I had not seen this trend, I went on to investigate. This ‘truth’ roughly translated into being on the ramp at his show and perhaps at that of another designer as well. But, upon leaving the comfortable confines of the fashion week, the ‘pantsuit’ was pretty much nowhere, and if it was (as my rather unfashionable driver exhibited), it had a completely different meaning to what I saw on the ramp.

However, we should not scoff at the peculiarities of this trade as within it lies the future of our aesthetic identity. We have just jumped the gun on the presentation and are catching up on the meat of the matter. First, the industry is bringing the idea of trends and dressing to a generation whose forbearers never really thought of such things. If, over a period of time, we are not swamped by international brands, we could begin once again to develop sophistication in our tastes. Second, since these garments are patronised by the well-heeled (this is a worldwide phenomenon), there is premium placed on quality and innovation. Eventually these productive trends filter down the value chain.

But today, all this is into the distant future. The industry is small and not exactly exhibiting startling growth rates. As for the talent, not many legacies are being created at this point. The players are struggling to bring product to market and that is why there is skepticism about whether this will result in bringing wider trends to bear on our communities.

However, there are exceptions. People like Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi and even Manish Arora have spawned aesthetics that are widely emulated and imitated both in clothing as well as ancillary products. There is originality and identity in some places and this is just the beginning of more of these trend drivers. Consolidation is happening within the community and only those who have an identity applicable to the audience will survive. Also, there are channels opening up that are enabling designers to influence trends such as movies or tie-ups with large retail brands.

It is no coincidence that a cultural specific approach is the most successful. A bulk of designers’ returns comes from the traditional wedding market. Those who have managed to create products for the ‘Indian woman’ are the ones seeing the best returns. Clearly there is a bent toward requiring a local identity from fashion as opposed to mimicing what exists in the West.

 

Westernized high street brands: The brands that are high street in the West (Mango, Promod) tend to be premium brands in India given a lower income dispersion. The better entrenched brands are the denim ones (Levi’s, Wranglers, Pepe) and these are mirrored by local brands put to market by large garment export houses (Spykar, Numero Uno, etc). This is also true of sportswear and corporate wear brands.

The most substantial affect of these brands is that they are westernizing the way India’s youth dresses. Though there is little in terms of localization or originality, the distribution reach is their foremost strength. In terms of aesthetics there is little to comment on as we are speaking of fairly straightforward western fare, which is perhaps better in quality as compared to what was available in the market before their entry. Since these companies are aiming for scale, their products tend to be price sensitive, as are their consumers.

The advent of large industrial houses into the retail industry has spawned several private labels, which are similar to the fare mentioned earlier. It seems that international TV, western thinking and the convenience of this type of clothing is prompting a basic change in the way the youth of the country dress on a day to day basis. Products are increasingly mass produced and mass marketed.

 

There are certain aspects that may not have been explicitly mentioned in this article, but by and large they fall into one category or the other. For example, the influx of ‘ethnic wear’ brands such as W and Biba are significant and worth pointing out, but they are influenced by Bollywood, fashion designers and traditional craft. Similarly, the large number of corporate wear brands are influenced by the West much like the jeans wear brands are.

As someone who is exposed to the marketplace, I have elaborated on the areas that I see as the most powerful determinants. Trends and influences are a tricky subject to comment on in India. As with many things, the exact sources are muddy and inter-connected. We are in an age where the past clings and accents the future, but we do live in complex times. What we can certainly hope for is a renewed emphasis on the immense pool of indigenous talent; hopefully this will prevail and become a legacy for the future.