Indian Fashion – Bridging Cultural Divides with Aplomb

There was a time, not so long ago, when fashion in India was a subject not to be spoken of in anything but hushed tones. Somehow the world of fashion was restricted to the elite class who had the blue-blooded privilege of exposure to the rest of the world, especially the Western culture. Their experiments with western apparel often had that hint of scandal that enhanced their allure among the rest. The fact that most of India, from times immemorial was wearing extremely attractive traditional Indian clothing somehow got lost in plunging bodices and swirling skirts of western apparel.

Education, Urbanization and Globalization – Catalysts to Western Fashion

With both boys and girls, including from the vast Indian middle-class receiving education in English-medium schools, and with television making inroads into every household and bringing home images of an extremely seductive western culture, it was no long before western apparel caught the fancy of them all. The unspoken taboo that western attire had in the previous generations stood effectively demolished. Western attire ruled the roost in classrooms, workplaces; leisure, and even traditional Indian wedding ceremonies, where the guests could all be seen in western suits. The trend received a further fillip with more and more people were going abroad on holidays, on business trips or to study. Were the days of traditional Indian clothing truly over?

A Resurgence in Ethnicity

In the world of fashion, nothing is ever constant. In fact, the very same factors that ushered in the western lifestyle became responsible for a massive boom in the Indian fashion industry. Unprecedented level of affluence in large sections of the society, liberal education and lifestyle, behavioral patterns that were significantly influenced by the all-pervasive television and film industries led to many fashion designers reverting to their Indian roots for design inspiration. Students of fashion institutes were seen researching Indian culture and tradition to find out how they fabric and the designs could be given the twist that upgraded them from conventional attire to objects of high-fashion. This soon became a trend and before one realized it, traditional Indian clothing, though much more embellished that ever before was back with a big bang. The mushrooming malls and boutiques proved to be ideal distribution outlets for customers with diverse spending power.

A New-Found Confidence Takes Over

The circle of fashion seems to have taken a full circle in India. The highly-educated population includes a large proportion that has received direct exposure to western culture. Western fashion has lost much of its mystery while traditional Indian clothing has once again come to the fore. People are now far more confident in their ability to play multiple roles. The college-going girl dons a pair of low-slung jeans to class and then chilling out with friends in a dainty chikan-worked salwar-kameeze bought online from a top-notch fashion e-tailer like http://www.desiclik.com/. A top office executive thinks nothing of occupying the corner room is a Saville Row suit and then attending a musical soiree in an intricately-embroidered sherwani. Mothers in sarees take their daughters shopping for their trousseau and encourage them to include a gown or two while making the selection. Indians have never had it so good. Today, they no longer have the need to fit in by conforming to the rigours of a particular style but accept the best of all fashion trends.