Sunday, October 18, 2009

Desi, Fashion, or Scare ?

For all the fashion-conscious out there -you must recently have been confronted by a scare----a scare for sure if you are not one of those who is afflicted by the 'in thing' or the 'go with the crowd, it cries fashion' syndrome.

I am refering to the master of ceremonies (MC) in the "Kurkure Desi Beats Rock On" show on MTV. It is about selecting the best desi rock band of India to represent it in the international rock contest. The kind of attire (thats the word I can use, as atleast I do not understand what to call what she wears on the show ) worn by the MC is neither desi, fashionable, nor at the least 'good to look at'. So what is this whole desipan and fashion about? Is the dress she is wearing on the show any indication of the desi quotient? I would be horrified if one had to represent India wearing that kind of attire. It is neither western nor desi nor anything else I would care to comment upon. Rather , it is an ugly fusion of different customs and styles.

I understand fashion to be the a synonym for glamour, beauty and goodness. Clothing changes based on the season, timing, economic or social change. It may be a custom or style prevalent for a short period of time, but still a part of the longer-enduring culture. But it is the styles such as mentioned above that lead to terms such as 'fads' and 'trends'.

It would be more sensible to design clothes, create fashion, or whatever term is used--to mean actually what they are created for. If a 'desi' fashion is created, let it be desi indeed, not an obnoxious combination of an Indian blouse (again some fusioned version) and a jeans, a maati on the forehead, and then call it a desi fashion. Guess it be right for the organizers of the show to pep-up their fashion-quotient. Lets rock on for the right reasons, not for anything and everything that is new and invites stares and scares!!!