At Ease

Before we begin this story,here’s a question to all the ladies (and some men too) who love to sport cotton churidaars. How many times have you heard your snug pair rip and tear as you bent over,sat cross-legged or just got up from your car seat? You don’t really need a survey to tell you that it’s a common albeit embarrassing occurrence! When it comes to everyday wear,Indian fabrics like cotton,crepe and silk till now didn’t really allow a snug fit unless you planned on standing and keeping the movement to a minimum. But all of that ‘stiffness’ is a thing of the past as designers and brands are putting in lycra (spandex) blended fabrics in use. “I shied away from wearing churidaars for the flimsy fabrics would just not drape well,” mentions city-based designer Mini Sondhi of the label ‘Bling,Bling’. Ever since the market has been flooded with fabrics that have cotton and lycra blends,Sondhi has has a change of mind. “In fact I am now designing churidaars and even kurtis and tunics made from crepe-lycra mix to cotton-lycra mix fabrics. Though the fabrics are priced more,the longevity of the fabric makes it all worth it,” Mini mentions.

Elsewhere,city-based designer Pratibha Mahajan Sahi who recently launched her label and store ‘Omana’ can’t stop raving about the way stretch fabrics have changed the way Indian garments now fit. “Not just churidaars but I also use fabrics like lurex to design complete ensembles,” says Pratibha. The result is a smart and snug fit. “Blouses drape really well too,” adds the designer as we eye her collection of pretty Anarkali-style suits with lycra churidaars to dressier sarees.

At the city’s ‘W for Women’ store in DT Mall,you are spoilt for choice with garments that aren’t just styled smart but offer a comfortable fit that was once associated only with denim and T-shirts. “Indian women are constantly on the move. So the blended fabrics make for easy wearability,” mentions a brand representative. Also offering a variety of stretch clothing is Pantaloons and Westside where even tunics boast of cotton-lycra blends.

Interestingly though at a time when lycra was unheard of,the country’s well-known designer Rina Dhaka was ‘inventing’ stretch Indian clothing! “What you get today in shopping malls was something I put together in the late ‘80s,” Dhaka tells us. Those were times when lycra hadn’t shown up on Indian turf. “I had cat-suits which I would rip apart and make churidaars out of for a slimmer fit,” you hear her tell her ‘stretch’ story. Well,we’ve come a long way since then.