India is still stuck in a fashion shell

While India might be the most up and coming destination as far as the luxury sector is concerned, when it comes to resort fashion and lifestyle, it is still far behind in its ways, sensibilities and ethos.

The second edition of Indian Resort Fashion Week that recently took place in Goa stands as a prime example of this fact.

As a nation we are still very young and reserved when it comes to our fashion lexicon.

Though as individuals we may flaunt bikinis, risqué dresses and sexy gowns in a collective spirit, we cannot claim to be ready to take on the world of resort wear and cruise collections.

For starters, in effect, a cruise collection can best be described as an interseason or mid season of ready-to-wear lines that are usually picked up by jetsetters or seasoned travelers who will wear them on vacations.

There is now a platoon of designers who see this as a new market to explore, but it's an experiment.

Both the venture and the designs are all by the hit-and-try method. We, the clients are the guinea pigs.


Indian resort wear is replete with traditional and ethnic wear with a twist of western drapes and a set of badly crafted bikins.

It is, effectively, Indian wear gone wrong defined by pastel or bright colours, lighter fabrics and untried silhouettes.

Designer like Neeta Lulla, Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor and Rizaay Gangji to name a few showcased predominantly Indian ensembles along with heavily embellished gowns that are more suited for red carpet events than fancy cruise attire.

Desi resort wear might boast of a handful of designers such as Narendra Kumar, Wendell Rodricks, James Ferriera, Malini Ramani and Pria Kataria Puri but that's not enough to put us on the map.

Secondly, Indians love to shop abroad and will pick up the latest resort lines by renowned fashion houses like Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen and Chloe to name a few.

Resort wear is chic, formal and sexy, whether it's lounge wear, glamorous evening wear or beachwear.

The magic is in the silhouettes, drapes, fabrics and prints. Blingy crystals, overthe- top drama and heavily embellished attire clearly don't fall in this category.

If it's the foreigners that one is targeting to pick up resort wear in India then it's a Herculean task. Point number three, "if you have it flaunt it" is just not part of our lexicon.

To be reserved is not to be regressive. It's simple, how many of us will be ok with walking on the streets of a beach destination (not on the beach) in our bikinis Miami style?

 Not too many. International celebrities are the first to flaunt six-pack abs, bikini bodies and svelte figures, post baby fit figures and they even flaunt flab.

Skinny or voluptuous, everyone from Kim Kardashian, Eva Longoria, Reese Witherspoon and Courtney Cox have been happy to be snapped up in their sexy little nothings.

Now take desi celebs, trying to get them to flaunt their figures in bikinis on celluloid is a big deal, forget in public locales, like resorts or beaches.

Can you imagine a Priyanka Chopra, Kareena kapoor or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan lounging in their bikins or sheer kurtis on a casual day out?

It'll never happen, there may be celebrity showstoppers in every resort wear show but no celebrity will endorse this off the runway.

As much as we would like to believe that celebrity endorsement for anything is not a necessity, it just is in the Indian fashion scenario.

There's nothing like celebrity support for anything or branding which works wonders for things to move from rack to wardrobe.

So when there are few takers and even fewer designers for resort wear in the country, how can it evolve as a true segment in the world of Indian fashion?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2241973/India-stuck-fashion-shell.html#ixzz2DxfZhvKM


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