The Anna topi makes good lounge conversation but is unlikely to become a raging fashion accessory Indian fashion has never sought a cure for its bipolar temperament. It looks at the West for sophistication and silhouette,without averting its gaze from the idea of India. The crisp,angular Gandhi topi,also called the Nehru cap,made from hand-woven cotton,has often been used to evoke idealistic imagery on the Indian ramp. It is a cliché,like the khadi sari,the textile dhoti,the Kolhapuri chappal or the fabric jhola. It is now billed as the accessory of the moment by the social media. Will the Anna (Hazare) topi become the ruling fad next season? Not really,say designers. It can become a powerful statement only if used without gimmickry and as part of a collection that holistically upholds the Indian way of wearing and thinking, says the matriarch of Indian fashion Ritu Kumar. She emphasises that the Anna topi,like the Gandhi cap,must not be yanked out of its context. Numerous images of men and women in Anna topis,captured during Hazares fast at Jantar Mantar in New Delhi,caught attention. Most had donned it as support; they also wore the tri-colour on their sleeves. I Am Anna Hazare,read the black lettering on many topis. One,worn by a heavily tattooed girl with short,spiky hair and multiple ear piercings,made it to Facebook,as did another in rani pink with black letters. These funky versions lent a delicious capriciousness to the Anna topi,making it a talking point. It reminds designer Ravi Bajaj of the time when the success of Richard Attenboroughs 1983 film,Gandhi,inspired an American businessman to get these topis made in bulk from Gujarat and sell thousands of them for a dollar a piece in the US. Everyone wore them for a day or two, says Bajaj. Bajaj sent the Gandhi topi down the runway a few years back. My models wore formal suits with ties and had ornate sticks in hand,with topis in different colours, he recalls. Like him,designer Tarun Tahiliani,who has used the topi too,sees it as crispy conversation,not necessarily the next big thing. One of the reasons Tahiliani feels the Anna topi may not become the rage is because of the connotations the fashion fraternity could evoke by its use. People have to take permission to use the tri-colour as a garment or an accessory; it is not easy imbibing political symbols in fashion in India, he says,recalling the time when designer Malini Ramani wore the tri-colour,inviting serious flak. Tahiliani put the topi on his male models for his Spring Summer 2010 collection,but in stylised black wool crepe. I like the moulded versions that curve around the head, he says. On the other hand,Sabyasachi,who used the Gandhi topi both on his male and female models for his bridal collection at Couture Week last year,says the limited functionality of the topi obstacles its popularity. Modern men as fashion buyers are happier with less,not more, he says, admitting that he used it only for idealistic nostalgia. It is this ambiguous association with idealism that makes David Abraham of Abraham & Thakore wary of the Anna topi. I would be hesitant about using it because of the mixed socio-political implications this movement has begun to provoke, says Abraham. Doff your hat to the Anna topi as good conversation,not as style,thats the verdict. Or as couturier JJ Valaya says,It is Anna,not the topi who has fuelled this talk,lets not mix the two.
