Wow Ma! appreciation from their children when wearing jeans is a colossal positive stroke for 35-40-year-old women,especially in low income families. Once the ice is broken,they start enjoying the convenience,cost,smart look and minor intemperance of showing off their figures. This is possible only on parents-in-laws day out. The husbands approval is of minor consequence,its their children who rule the household roost today.
The cultural difference of being a daughter or daughter-in-law reveals itself when it comes to wearing Western clothes. Even if she doesnt cover her head nowadays,a young daughter-in-law cannot stray beyond traditional Indian clothes. When this girl visits her parents home,shes indulged like a queen,can wear Western outfits,but her sister-in-law of her same age in that same household cannot do so. This restrictive feeling is perhaps the start of all friction with the in-laws. Older housewives in joint or nuclear families whove taken the bold step of wearing jeans and a kurti justify it in economic and productivity terms. A sari or salwar suit costs about Rs 1,200 with time-consuming stitching involved. Maintaining a sari is difficult. Jeans and a top for daily use come within Rs 500,theyre easy to work in and maintain. When 35+years housewives eulogise Western wear,you can imagine how incredibly the American easy dressing has seeped into Indian culture.
Historically,fashion garments emanated in Western Europe,Americans had no contribution here. Up to the 16th century,Italy dominated art,culture,dressing and luxury amenities,then lost the la bella figura (beautiful figure) tradition. From the 17th century,French King Louis XlV introduced fashion in every angle of life,from dress to furniture,luxury accessories to living style. Into this departure of modern fashion entered an Englishman called Charles Frederick Worth in 1846. He started haute couture (high fashion) design in Paris. He presented multiple womens dress collections,each a one-of-a-kind creation,to please his titled or wealthy customers. Every square inch of a haute couture dress is highly crafted,has outstanding fit,decorative finish,and is influenced by the high fashion style of Queen Marie Antoinette married to King Louis XVI.
France protects the term haute couture by law. To be officially recognised,couture (dress making) houses have to qualify by following rules established by the Chambre de commerce et dindustrie de Paris since 1945. Transcending from Worth,Parisian haute couture houses that exist today are Chanel and Dior among others. Post the 1960s,young haute couture trained designers like Yves Saint Laurent,Christian Lacroix and Jean-Paul Gaultier revolutionised the fashion world.
After World War I and 1930s Great Depression,Americans started mass producing easy-wearing,cost-effective,productivity-facilitating garments. When France was enjoying the lavish La Belle Epoque (beautiful era) style from 1890-1914 with sophisticated clothing,the US invented casual dressing. Thats the iconic,rugged,Cowboy-Yankee anti-fashion garment of jeans. Most people dont know that denim fabric was crafted in Nimes,France,in the 17th century; originally called serge de Nimes. The contemporary term jeans comes from Gênes,the French word for Genoa (Italy) sailors who wore denim workpants. As Americans always respect European culture,de Nimes became synonymous with denim jeans.
Capitalist American culture has proliferated fast food across the world too,from McDonalds McAloo to Chicken tandoori pizza in India. Hygienic food in air-conditioned atmosphere is affordable to lower income people now. A popular local sandwich-maker in Bangalore sells a minimum Rs 33 sandwich; just opposite,McDonald sells a Rs 25 hamburger. From jeans to McDo,which Indians call McD,these all-American products have broken class barriers. Rich and poor alike happily absorb the inviting influence of American power. No Communist regime,whether in Lenin or Putins Russia or Maos China,has been able to invent this globally recognisable culture of affordable dressing and eating for the worlds poor. Nor has Karl Marxs Das Kapital ever given any hint of how to enjoy life once liberated from feudal lords. So is our criticism of US capitalism grounded in reality? Hasnt the US invented its own brand of socialism,taking care of basic human necessities of inexpensive food and garments? If Karl Marx were living today,how would he recognise Americas McJeans culture,especially as it drives an aspirational careless fashion for all classes?
India is bathed in McJeans culture today,neglecting our Father of the Nations vision of khadi. No young Indian is trying to emulate Gandhijis dressing style,which at that time had served the PR purpose of attracting global attention to his philosophy of non-violence. Without promoting Yankee culture,purely from the historical perspective,I dont see any ideology,other than McJeans,thats provided immense value in fulfilling the 2 basic needs of the masses. Ive never worn a pair of jeans myself,but when I see 6 to 35-year-old Indian men/women with monthly family income of Rs 6,000 up to millionaires sporting jeans,I can only admire the global influence of cost-conscious Americans.
Even in a gastronomy connoisseur country like France,when you visit a 5,000-populated habitation after 8 p.m.,youll not get anything to eat. But of course,the yellow neon signage for a hamburger will beckon you unto 11 p.m. Driving back from Coorg to Bangalore the other day,we found no hygienic eating joint at odd hours,but soon enough found an American Rs 25 hamburger served in a super ambience.
In the next 15 to 20 years,would our traditional sari,kurti,dupatta,dhoti,khadi,dosa,paubhaji,chole-bhature become rare in India? Will my granddaughter Sreeya at age 22 in 2027 have a different choice and price for McJeans in India,better than in her home in London today?
Shombit Sengupta is an international creative business strategy consultant to top management. Reach him at http://www.shiningconsulting.com
