Fashion is synonymous with body, says Rohit Bal
"Fashion," proclaimed world-renowned designer Valentino, "is drifting towards a type of woman who looks like a soft-porn star." Fellow couturier Pierre Cardin agreed. "We undress men and women, we don't dress them any more," he said.
"Fashion," proclaimed world-renowned designer Valentino, "is drifting towards a type of woman who looks like a soft-porn star." Fellow couturier Pierre Cardin certainly agreed. "We undress men and women, we don't dress them any more," he said.
But the newfound revulsion for flesh among international style gurus like Valentino, Cardin and Giorgio Armani doesn't seem to have dampened spirits in India.
"Agreed that most of us create for the classes, but that too is a sizable chunk. Whatever designers do is totally theme-based. Suppose a chiffon blouse requires that the model not wear a bra under it, then it has to be like that. There's simply no way out. You have to understand that it's done with a purpose. It is upto the person wearing the outfit to make herself look sensual so that her inner beauty shines through. A model has to know how to carry clothes. The problem with an Indian audience is that it often sees things in a wrong perspective. While branding certain outfits cheap and vulgar, they forget that the human body is sacred and very aesthetic. That's what fashion is really about," says Nikhil Mehra, one-half of the Shantanu-Nikhil label.
Nayanika, who designs alongside sister Gauri, agrees with Nikhil. "Fashion needs to grow much more in terms of exposure because if you see what happens on international ramp, you'll be amazed...models come wearing practically nothing! India will take years to get there. The reasons are many. We may have got bold over the years, but Indians are still not mature enough to handle nudity. They are still not ready to accept it. Although models here don't flaunt all that much, people still get scandalised.
"I emphasise more on sex appeal while designing. If my client wants a low cut V-neck blouse then why wouldn't I make it? And to tell you frankly, everyone likes wearing sexy dresses. It's just that many of us hate admitting it!" she quips.