As a person of Indian descent, wearing a rainbow of colors is part of my DNA. India’s description as a “colorful country” is apt and reflects its rich culture, heritage and traditions. It is also a description of the colorful spirit of the people, whether related to spiritualism, food or fashion. The food is colorful, spicy and hot, and so is the clothing–bright, iridescent, vivid and luminous.
Sabyasachi
In India, you will see people in various walks of life, going about their daily routines wearing colors like incandescent yellow, fiery fuchsia, sunburst orange and fluorescent violet. You will see not only “pops of color” (an extremely ubiquitous term used in the Western world to describe even a slight peek of color in an outfit), but people wearing “bursts of color.” In fact you will see “explosions of color.”
In the Western world, I became familiar with the age-old (and for the most part dated) concepts of fashion, such as wearing only black makes one look thinner; or petite-framed people should not wear bright prints; or wearing one color from top to bottom streamlines the silhouette. Since most of us are not blessed with the necessary physical attributes to fit into the perfect matrix allowing us to wear colors, we are left with the limited choice of wearing basic blacks, blues and greys. It becomes a dull, drab and colorless existence, and I vehemently put my red soled Louboutin clad foot down!
The fashion designers of India reflect the colorful spirit and soul of the people. India is currently holding the equivalent of Milan and Paris fashion week. It is called the Lakme India Fashion Week, named after the iconic cosmetic brand. One of my favorite young, upcoming and cerebral designers is Sabyasachi. His designs capture the essence and soul of India. He not only incorporates a rainbow of colors into his designs, but also weaves a strand of the intelligent Indian brain into the look–after all, haven’t Indians made their mark all over the world in varied fields such as science and technology? And not to forget the powerful Ms. Indra Nooyi, CEO of Pepsi.
Sabyasachi’s styling is unique with the oversized cat-eye reading glasses and hermit-like buns on top of the head. His designs have the right amount of color and flair to be striking.
Jil Sander
Jil Sander
This season I was pleasantly surprised to see Western designers taking a chance with bright colors and bold patterns. Designers such as Raf Simons for Jil Sander did a brilliant job at the Paris Fashion Week with dresses made of big and bold print fabrics. The last few collections of Raf Simons have been the same, steeped with intense colors and designs.
Jil Sander
Colors are meant to be worn, to be experimented with and to give a delight to our spectral sensitivities. They lend boldness to our style and spirit. So, wear them with delight and pride.
