Journalism of Courage
Having made a name for herself in the industry through her statement designs,unorthodox creations are now a legitimate expectation at designer and installation artist Shilpa Chavans shows. So when Little Shilpa (her label name,and also a fond moniker for the petite designer) had women pair saris with mens shirts at her Lakme Fashion Week (LFW) show last month,it was seen as a creative expression. Chavan,of course,was matter-of-fact about how the idea was to channel androgyny and give the woman another option to the traditional sari blouse. For my line,titled Grey Matter,I decided to reconstruct the katori choli silhouette and present it in a shirt format,explains the designer.
While Chavans reinterpretation may have been more dramatic,one cant dispute the fact that the traditional sari blouse as we know it now has a variety of alternatives. For Delhi-based designer duo Ankur and Priyanka Modi,their brand ethos of creating versatile ensembles prompted them to team their saris with waistcoats and jacket-style blouses. The sari is now getting revamped. So instead of making backless cholis,we are juxtaposing the fluidity of a pre-draped sari with the structured silhouette of a waistcoat or a jacket-style blouse. Besides,these neednt be worn just with saris,they make for great accompaniment for palazzos and denims as well, says Priyanka.
Indeed,with the culture of separates offering more functionality,people are increasingly open to experimenting. At the recent LFW grand finale,Sabyasachi Mukherjee presented striped crop tees with some of his saris. As part of her autumn/ winter 2013 collection,Delhi designer Payal Pratap replaced the traditional blouse with kedia blousons,a peplum-style blouse traditionally worn by Gujarati men. Rahul Mishras textile story at LFW saw him craft peplum jackets and shirt blouses out of 100-year-old chanderi weaves. The sari is one of our oldest garments and I didnt want to disturb that. Using peplum jackets and shirts seemed like a good way to contemporise the ensemble and make it more appealing to a wider audience particularly the young,well-travelled woman, he explains.
Styling too has also seen a change. Archana Kochhar had the narrow pallus of her saris passing through the epaulettes on shirt blouses whereas Mishra had the pallus pass from inside the peplum jacket. Todays client wants more. A slim pallu draped over a shirt blouse lends a smart look that is easy to achieve, says Kochhar.
Khandwala says that while the choli may continue to have takers,those wanting to look beyond princess glam now have a plethora of options to pick from. At the end of the day,theres nothing like fashioning your own look using pieces from different labels. Individual style stems from using these multi-functional shirts. Besides,a long shirt or jacket will also help cover up ones problem areas, she says .
