Here’s looking at you, Deepika for making cleavage the new black

The actor’s reaction is commendable. Her online reply reads: “Yes! I am a woman. I have breasts and a cleavage! You got a problem!?”

With that statement alone, Deepika Padukone joins a growing league of avant-garde women who use their clothing to push the idea of nakedness. Young women of the world today, extremely fashion-forward in their choices, are using their skin to self-embrace. Rihanna’s outing in a sheer dress at the CFDA awards in New York this June, without the coverings of her lingerie, is the most obvious statement-maker here. Other stars, such as Rita Ora, Selena Gomez, Kate Moss, even Sandra Bullock and Gwyneth Paltrow, are flaunting the ‘side-boob’ and ‘under-boob’ styles.

This is also why sheer clothing is suddenly on every fashion runway of the world. It is so interesting, and ironic, that clothing is celebrating a nudity of sorts. What started with the legendary Yves Saint Laurent and his sheer shirts of the ’70s, is now a leitmotif with every designer presenting a collection. Fendi is even doing sheer with shearling in gobsmackingly-delicious styles. Tom Ford’s Spring 2015 sheer dresses are unprintable. Priyanka Chopra, when promoting Gunday, wore a magnificent diaphanous skirt with large granny-pants for underwear — I don’t think I’ve ever wanted to commend her for her style except this time.

No one’s saying that Padukone aimed to create a talking point with a harmless low-cut salwar kameez. But even Hillary Clinton, in her role as USA’s Secretary of State, was derided for just a one-time hint of cleavage with her severe pant-suits. Ms Padukone is, after all, in the business of looking good, and those that are here are open to immense public scrutiny for their appearance.

This isn’t the first time Plain Jane Padukone, daughter of a national athlete craving to carve a name for herself among the glamorous, has had her clothes speak for her. As her character in Homi Adajania’s flawed but successful Cocktail, Padukone was the flawless one. From the gawk-eyed nervous wannabe arriviste that she was, Padukone metamorphosed into a confident strident woman, a “rich bitch” who mixed luxurious furs with high-street maxi dresses. She became a star overnight, less for her sexy-turned-Savitri avatar in the film, more for her simply fabulous wardrobe.

Sure much credit goes to the popular stylist Anaita Shroff Adajania, but Padukone now owns the room. With an unabashed statement claiming proud ownership of her breasts, she also shows that she owns a thinking and questioning mind. The days when heroines refused to kiss onscreen but padded their bras to unnatural proportions just to titillate, are a thing of the past. Padukone — a talented, gorgeous, successful actor whose name is sometimes flashed before even Shah Rukh Khan’s — is the new black.

Who says a top-lining movie star and a fashion icon cannot be a feminist to the core and speak for every woman? Certainly not Deepika Padukone.

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