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
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I APPAREL I
June 2019