Sunday, April 10, 2011

Designed For Slim Waists And Fat Wallets



Front row passes for the Bangalore Fashion Week 2010! The designer was an acquaintance, kind enough to share two passes for the event. Now I am no fashion aficionado, yet, simply being a woman, a ticket to the glamour world was pure luck knocking at the doors.

Today I read in the papers that there is a mad scuttle to get front row passes for the Fashion Week. I would be a fool, if I were to decline the offer a year ago. Shockingly in Delhi socialites are hiring image consultants to procure invites for coveted shows. The image consultants charge up to a lakh for ensuring the right visibility for the social butterflies. Perhaps it’s Delhi and every second person is a Page 3 socialite, that’s why.

Bangalore has its own beautiful paradox. It is a metro with all the luxuries of a small town, where common man can get tickets for big events, unlike Delhi where power honchos and celebrities are nauseatingly over-spilling.
“What is there to see in a fashion show?” the husband let the fizz out. ‘Those dresses are outrageous.”

Now who can explain that I am not going there for the dress designs. Well, I wish to see the show for the sheer experience of it. Simple!
Not the time to argue. Time to utilize all the persuasive skills at my disposal. “It will be a nice evening out We haven’t seen ‘The Oterra’ and models. The place will be swarming with pretty models.”
Punch!
Lest he is getting old, he cannot refuse.
“Let’s see if I am back early from work.”


If you are a woman you will appreciate this one. The moment we have an invitation on hand, the delicious agony is ‘what to wear’. Yet in hindsight, the agony was a waste of time. With women at the venue in nothing less than two carats and exotic labels, even a sack on me would have gone unnoticed. Funnily enough some women were deliberately holding their LVs against the chest claiming, ‘I have arrived.’ Yes, I was in the exotic land of ‘buy and tell’.


People milled in the room as seats filled. The rush and murmur of voices died suddenly and there was darkness before the music started thumping. From dense smoke, sashayed a model. A battery of shutterbugs went crazy. Forget the dress, there was hardly any. So what was there? The accessory de jure was oodles of attitude. Dripping. The secret is to revel in the freedom of being a woman, swing the hips, and toss the mane but never smile. A smile perhaps denigrates the value of the dress.

The husband being his candid self couldn’t control, ‘Where’s the dress? She’s tied two handkerchiefs?” As I shh-ed him, the lady sitting next to us gave an icy look.
Honest. I wasn’t ogling. I just happened to sight it. Purely unintentional! After all models are Gods perfect creations. Aren’t they? Wasn’t it meant for lesser mortals? Yes, Cellulite. It was visible on some slimmest legs.

Perhaps the show lacked high profile models and thus the imperfection. Cellulite on an international model can snatch the star power instantly. Scrutiny comes with the nature of business and imperfections are not acceptable. Unfortunate but true.

The designs displayed are sometimes path breaking in shades, silhouettes and cuts, but are meant exclusively for very slim waists and very fat wallets.


Would fashion be fashion unless lots of people were following it? Does fashion originate from such shows and becomes more emphatic and ubiquitous? Perhaps color, silhouettes and drape trends emerge. Did jeans become a jegging or a legging courtesy fashion shows? Isn’t Bollywood responsible for fashion trends? Perhaps both. I do not know.

However I know that comfort level and pricing has to be in concurrence for a trend to become fashion on the street. Yet fashion on the street is entirely different than what is exhibited in fashion shows. I am now scratching my head. It is so confusing.

35 comments:

  1. Hey Alka, you got front row passes to the Blore fashion week? Cool!

    The title of your post is apt for what you have written.

    yes yes, moment we have an invitation to such events, the first quastion is what to wear? What did you go for finally?

    Seriously, what is there to see in a fashion show?Designer Handkerchiefs on the models may be?

    I have always wondered too about these fashion shows. I mean, what you see there is nothing like what we see on the streets. So then seriously what is the purpose of such shows?

    BTW, next time you get tickets to fashion shows, you know who you want to pass it to ? ME. I would be interested in attending. I already know what I will wear to the show though.

    Cheers
    Always Happy

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  2. I think the Fashion shows became a prestige event only so recently in India. Earlier Fashion shows were nt meant for the idealistic. My friend who is a fotographer gets free passes. Lucky him. But I would not be able to admire the dresses but the contours of models

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  3. haha! So apt. I made my friend read this post and he said, "Passes humein he de detay. Bhala ho jaata aapka bhi." Seriously what is there to see in a fashion show, dress malfunction happens so often.

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  4. Good to knw tht u got to witness this event...wonder who buys these clothes!? :D

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  5. I can never understand the big deal about these fashion shows. Maybe, I don't have the knowledge to decipher fashion but are those torn nothings fashionable? The models look emaciated and like hangers with their tall, thin frames. And, seriously if one is caught wearing the stuff they showcase on ramps in the streets, dogs would be sure to chase them :).

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  6. seriously i have no idea about these things , How many people ACTUALLY buy them ... Never seen people buy such clothes anyway the picture of a sardar well thats good to see one but as far as i can see seems to be a person MADE to look like a sardar..
    Why cant they have ACtual Sardars do it .. cause the way the turban is tied looks ridiculous we dont tie the turban like that :)

    but cool you got to see them, I remeber going ot one of these in London with my cousin who is this designer .. I got bored ..

    Bikram's

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  7. Hi,
    Nice to know that you got the ticket on the fashion show. It is a different experience altogether.

    As for people who attend, bhagwan bachaye. Recently I was out on a Safari with wife and next to us was an old French woman ( >60 I think). When she saw a dancing peacock, the first word that came out from her was 'Oooo la la'. That was so original, so authentic French that no one else can say like that.
    Our traditional dances, our temples, our olden ways of living are ours, French and British can never understand them.
    A copied thing will remain copied and can never become original. If however someone can twist it and make it relevant to Indian women , see the market they are going to get.
    Anything that becomes Indian need not be dumbed down but can be spiced up with right Indian colors made for India. THen only fashion will ever reach the potential. Otherwise it is just like anything else that is copied from west without a thought.
    Nakal main bhi akal chaiye

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  8. @Always happy....promise the passes are yours IF I manage to get them.


    @Jon....Honestly those contours are worth admiring. I pity the girls though...they really work hard for that.


    @Prateek...Its tough in Delhi. Try visiting Bangalore Fashion week.Its easy to get the passes for the shows by upcoming designers held during he day. The evening slot is for veterans.Expect cellulite.

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  9. @Ria...People with slim waists and fat wallets do.



    @Rachna....That is sooo funny.Dogs after designer labels..ha ha.

    @Bikram...I deliberately did not put a model in skimpy clothes lest I am accused of attracting certain type of readers. This pic is more for fun..Who wears a red suit? But some surds can look very handsome in a well stitched suit.

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  10. @Ashwini....true. Some designers are encouraging traditional weaves and motifs which is a good sign. Recently Manish Malhotra used Kashmiri embroidery on his designs and the outcome was magical.But those clothes are very expensive.Not for the common man.

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  11. I am yet to see the kind of dress worn by models on such events used on other occasions.

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  12. You have verily described the Vanity Fair. If I smiled at the 'two handkerchiefs', I burst out laughing at the shutterbugs going crazy. I could almost see myself falling all over the place, trying to gain a vantage point....

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  13. Great, Alka, lively description and a new feather in your hat. Now I can claim I have fashionable friends :-)

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  14. @Harish...true.


    @Umashankar...Vanity Fair it is.Some karigars and craftsmen are also gaining through it, which is good.


    @Giribala..Only because this show was by an upcoming designer. Its impossible to get passes for veterans.

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  15. Next time your husband says 'What is there to see in a Fashion show?...lolz..leave him. You know where you can direct those tickets..:-)

    Must say your writing is brilliant. So beautifully written.

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  16. while going through the write up i felt myself like sitting in the front row and having a first hand experience of all happenings there.... it was very well narrated.

    one thing i often think that, the most of the outfits shown in these fashion shows are ever actually used by ppl here in this part of world???

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  17. I remmember having attended some show like the one you mention. It was something to do with Femina. Well............not much to write about.

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  18. @Atulsush...Thanks.

    @Irfanuddin....Thats a great compliment.

    @BKC...It is only for a certain type of audience.

    @Prateek...:)

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  19. So true! Who wears those clothes?

    Guess the photographers must start saying "CHEESE" before every click! What would go wrong with a simple smile to put on? Definitely not after a wardrobe malfunction ;)

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  20. I do not have much regard for Indian designers - the cuts are bad, they are high on bling and the prices are outrageous. I'd rather buy pret from Zara. Or better still, splurge in Sarojini Nagar :p

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  21. haha! so lucky of u get those passes and xperiance it all live! frankly, the dresses r useless piece of cloths acc to me..a waste of money and time. all that pomp and show with more often then not, stupid under creative designs...but yet watching FTV once in a while seems fun..i dont know why? :P

    sarah

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  22. Wow...I have always wished for passes to fashion shows, but alas, none have come my way. But, when I get the time I watch them on Television. I do find most of the clothes overpriced and many are not practical for daily usage. Enjoyed the post, Alka.

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  23. How I envy you Alka. Why aren't my friends benevolent enough to give me a pass or two... I am not very fashion savvy... but I wouldn't mind spending an evening with these super slim models.... It might give me the motivation to keep my weight under check ;)

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  24. @Poonam....Smile perhaps belittles the design.

    @Purba..Some of them are good but way to expensive..


    @Subtlescribbler...Watching for a change is fun for sure.

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  25. @Rachna..Thanks. Yes its the cost of the label.The brand sells.


    @Thebrokennib....Welcome here. ha ha thats a novel way of looking at it. Thanks for reading dear.

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  26. Alka,

    Tongue in cheek post. Shows what TAMESHA goes on. Had a good laugh at " Two handkerchiefs". Hope you get the passes for next show specially after your friend reads this post.

    Take care

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  27. haha..i have always wanted to see a fashion show,like u said just for the experience of it...although i know when i would finally manage to be there at one, my perspective would not be any different from yours Alka:-)

    Amazing how u find humour or humour finds you:-)

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  28. @Jack... Oh, I pre informed her about the post and the tongue in cheek take.Thanks for reading.



    @Suruchi... how I wanted you to read this one! Am glad you did.

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  29. hate fashion weeks! make me feel fat! jokes apart, you must have had an awesome time!

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  30. @Confusedyuppie..Welcome here. It was fun for sure. Thanks for reading.

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  31. lol! now you got me confused too!

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  32. Its just like classic music if u like it u like it otherwise nothing.
    its fun

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  33. High fashion and street fashion are two different thing. The former can't be seen on streets for obvious reasons. And so is confined to fashion shows with exorbitantly priced passes. Like Purba, I also love to shop at Sarojini Nagar, our own 'fashion street':)

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  34. @Magiceye...Ha ha...



    @sm...Yes, perhaps.


    @Zephyr...Well said again.Count me in the gang.Thanks for reading.

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