When creative cuts go big

Manpriya Singh

While ‘the nation’ is yet to take a call on the American First Lady Melania Trump’s gold green brocade sash, there’s one thought that the whole of fashion universe stands united on.

The fact that the sartorial statement made by the first ladies has a much larger-than-life, much longer shelf life than the regular red carpets and annual ramp shows will ever make. Didn’t Duchess Kate in India in 2016 immediately take us right back to Lady Diana at The Taj Mahal in 1992?

Is it any wonder that Ivanka also takes us right back to The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, Sophie Gregoire Trudea (Canada’s First Lady) and Hillary Clinton? All of them happen to hire stylists to whom only Anita Dongre sends her look books. Or so it appears. Happily adding to her long list of dignitaries, Anita Dongre describes the sherwani outfit chosen by Ivanka Trump, as something that is, “a classic and thus timeless in its appeal.” Adds the designer, “Ivanka is wearing a sherwani made out of handwoven silk from Murshidabad, West Bengal. We created this style 20 years ago and it’s amazing to see how beautifully relevant it is even today. A powerful, standout silhouette, a sherwani carries the

same charisma in absolutely any colour, but my personal favourites are the evergreen blue, white and black.”

Eclectic magic

Speaking of unforgettable appearances, Manish ‘eclectic’ Arora is yet another fixture on the red carpet, especially forming Katy Perry’s poster image in the equally famous merry-go-round dress at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2008. While that dress is yet to be forgotten, a couple of years later Nicki Minaj’s equally eclectic rib cage dress by Manish Arora from the American Music Awards 2010 makes it to the fashion history textbooks. It’s the same year when Fergie shows up in a short blue dress by Shane and Falguni Peacock at a music award show, and by then we’ve lost count of Indian designers on international sensations.

This love for Indian creations is nothing new in the West, opines designer Adarsh Gill who debuted in New York in the mid seventies out of Manhattan’s trophy stores like Neiman Marcus and Macy’s. A fashion graduate from New York, she feels extending Indian design philosophy on global clients is about good observation and understanding. She recalls an incident, “I sent my Bandhini collection to one of the New York stores, which the manager almost returned citing ‘textured marks on the bandhini’ which they didn’t know is how original handmade thing is. Anyway, that collection ultimately sold almost 500 pieces for 500 dollars each back in the seventies! One of the buyers happened to be Jackie Kennedy.”

Just a fortnight or so after his collection was showcased at Paris Couture Week, Rahul Mishra’s outfit from his spring summer 20 collection was spotted on none other than American actress-singer Zendaya. While it wasn’t the first instance of international exposure for the designer, an International Woolmark Prize winner, it’s definitely been the latest of our, ‘celebrated desi designers on celebs across the globe’.

Ivanka trump got it all right…

Red carpets, ramp shows, Indian celebs are a ‘been there done that’ turf for designer Rohit Bal, yet when Ivanka Trump chose an ivory anarkali for the dinner at Rashtrapati Bhawan, the designer gives his thumbs-up, but not for obvious reasons? “I think more than any categorisation of being worn by Indian celeb or an international one, what makes me happy is that the clothes should be worn the way they have been envisioned and are meant to be worn. I am not just happy, but thrilled with the way Ivanka carried it off. The make-up and hair were just the way they should have been with an outfit like that.” On her final of the total three appearances, while clearly overshadowing her mother, Ivanka got India absolutely right!