In India,the only one-size-fits-all garment in the worldthe sariis also couture Next week sees yet another India Couture week roll,this time in Delhi. How and when it moved to the capital city and who is (and why is) in the roster of participating designers is still a mystery to many. But never mind that for now. Indias fashion public is still debating each other whether it should call it a couture week or would a bridal week be a more accurate description. Benefactors adore the term couture and the snob appeal that comes with it. Detractors decry couture belongs to the French mostly,with a few must-dos and must-haves before one can call oneself a couturier (the doodads include having at least two fittings,15 or more employees,present two collections a year,and oh yes,living in Paris). But the truth lies somewhere in between. Couture is in Indias DNA. In its purest form,couture essentially means stitching or handcrafting clothes to fit our measure. And India has enjoyed bespoke tailoring,so to speak,at every level of society. Meanwhile,Paris couture maybe dead in the world, it is derided that maybe 20 women in the world can afford real couture. But in India, designer-produced and custom-made clothing still thrives and makes pots of money,while European labels rely on sunglasses and handbags to show profits. Famed Indian couturier (or trousseau-smith,if you prefer) JJ Valayas take is rather spot-on on this one. What we present is an Indian version of coutureit would be naïve to not call it couture. We have tweaked the definition, he says over the phone,inviting me to his pre-show lunch next Friday. He has a point: Indias spend on tailoring and dress- making can put a lot of big European names to shame,and so,Indian couture is here to stay. Indias contributions to haute couture as Europe understands it,is only acknowledged via its embroideries. The fault lies in half-baked history: India had been the land of drapes until the Turko-Mongols arrived,bringing with them a strange idea of cutting cloth into pieces and stitching them into garments. Indias influence on European couture is immense and under-appreciated. In his remarkable and to-be-published book on costume history of India,which I have had the privilege of editing,embroidery-free designer Wendell Rodricks takes us back to the sea route that Portugal discovered to India. Europe fell in love with Indian fabrics, textures and jewels and took it back with them: first it was Portugal and then France. Princess Josephine adored the Calcutta dhakai muslin. Louis XVI's court ran parallel to the Moghul reign in India and the French king was enchanted to the luxuries of our clothing and lifestyles. The Gujarat Palampore hand-painting is now used extensively in furnishings and is a rage in British,Provencal and Tuscan interiors as chintz. The renowned French traveler and exporter,Tavernier,sent Golconda diamonds to Europe (including the Hope Diamond) to the court of Louis XIV. Basra pearls and rubies went out of India too (Burma was then in our borders). India has been a big inspiration for European couture since then. The grandeur of the Moghuls was very new to them,that too sourced and created and unbelievable prices. Francois Lesage,who did embroideries for almost every big couture house,would come to India to get the craft done. In fact,his son still lives in Chennai and has taken couture to interiors. European couture has always been about the search for the next big shape. In India its about beauty,also the beauty of the body in its own form. This is also why one of the most beautiful ironies of India is that a hand-crafted sari,the only one-size-fits-all garment in the world,is also couture. (namratanow@gmail.com )
