WHAT do forecasts really matter in India where some of the most elegant and beautiful women do not know what a designer is. They wear fresh flowers, kohl in their eyes, and swathe themselves with handloom fabric. Some who can afford it have moved on to chiffon, and others are used to Vimal or Garden. Fast forward and run your eye over the mushrooming ‘blonde’ brigade. They’re dressed in the latest forecasted fashion and have adopted a look without the attitude of mind or body. Fashion abroad has evolved to suit a way of life, coming with appropriate fabrics, tailoring and a mindset reflective of a society. Forecasts and trends come out of a very western retail establishment that wants to ensure that everything matches, so that the unwitting shopper does not need a particularly great eye to make it work. Also, because we all live in the age of icons, a Madonna or Shah Rukh Khan will influence millions of people and break a trend while starting another. Even better, as Americans pummel Iraq looking for Saddam (and eventually find him) and we sit around the globe watching TV, cargo pants become the new, hot trend. So, while the poor soldiers have their cargo pants full of food, supplies, walkie-talkie sets and first aid, chic men and women are wandering around from Milan to Tokyo at dinner parties, in denim to satin versions. I have been reassured to see that some at least slip their mobile phones in! Oh well, the irony is not lost on me—trendy pockets are a big story! I have only started becoming conscious of the ‘latest’ trends, or even forecasting services, after actively participating in Milan Fashion Week, that too just to be more in sync with the silhouettes being worn, what fabrics work for their winter and what colours are in just so that our fashion is accepted. However, I can’t fit into that mind frame because I am not living on that cycle. Even when I am designing in India, there is pressure to follow Bollywood which, I believe, is the biggest setter of style for this country. I can’t get into that either. So, which God is going to tell me what’s going to be hot next season? And how, most importantly, do I manage to balance a collection that will work from Milan to Matunga in Mumbai?! There is no answer. Put very simply, a friend of mine, Douglas Benjamin (he partnered Gucci in Singapore) was with Tom Ford in the early ’90s where they sat around debating whether the revival of Gucci should be ‘traditional’ or ‘modern’. They chose modern, and the rest, is history. So, stop trying to ‘be’. It’s way too colonial to let anyone else’s fashion from abroad or a movie tell you who you are—that’s the new Orwellian nightmare. As I sign off, I’m reassured to know that when I next see Simi Garewal, she will still be in her lovely white, Rekha in a stunning kancheevaram and Rahul Dravid in his simple elegant style. Tarun Tahiliani is the man behind India’s first couture salon Ensemble
