Apparel June 2019 Apparel June 2019 | Page 36

FEATURE Turning West As more and more Indian women are turning their attention to Western attire, home-grown ethnic wear brands are catching up and catering to this changing need. Chitra Balasubramaniam decodes how. In India, there was a time when kurtas, salwars, churidars, and ghagra ensembles were the primary focus of home-grown brands, and dresses were once the exclusive preserve of Bollywood divas. Have times changed? Yes, they have, and it is evident all around. It is not to say that Indian wear is not popular but today, more and more Indian women are embracing Western apparel. Dresses and gowns are now worn by a plethora of urban women with aplomb. In part, dresses are looked at as the prerogative of leading brands such as Zara, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), and Marks & Spencer (M&S) but this is far from the truth. A trend that has been resurfacing in India today is that Indian ethnic brands are making their own offerings in Western womenswear. Some labels which are at the helm of this trend are Fabindia, Anokhi, Soma, W for Woman, BIBA, and Label Ritu Kumar, among others. However, the amalgamation of Indian fabrics and Western garments is not new. During the British Raj, too, many fixated on home-grown textiles such as Indian chintz, cashmere, chiffon, etc. History notwithstanding, Indian ethnic 30 I APPAREL I June 2019