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Photo: Rajeev Bhatt

Height of fashion Wardrobe malfunctions are usually pure accidents

History repeated itself recently at the same show when a foreign model showing designer Rajesh Pratap Singh’s clothes found herself a victim of wardrobe malfunction. The billion dollar question is, is this a ploy to get publicity?

“Of course not,” asserts model-turned actor Swetha Menon, who is hundred per cent sure that it is an accident.

“It does happen to every model at times. When you walk on the ramp, with the music, attitude and the rhythm, you won’t even know that it happens. Why, it happens at a wedding when the pallu comes off, doesn’t it? When I started out modelling, it happened to me twice. The first time was at Ooty, when I was doing a show with the likes of Meher Jessia during the mid-nineties. They were animal print jackets of Ashish Soni. During the rehearsal, I wore the jackets over sweaters as it was very cold. During the show, I wore the jacket outdoors and the fit was not okay, It came off a bit and I didn’t even realise it. Everyone was clapping like mad and I thought I was wonderful. When I saw the photos, I had tears in my eyes,” says Swetha.

The second time it was for a students’ show (NIFT) when Swetha wore a skirt. She sensed that the skirt was loose and wanted to wear something else underneath, but the student started crying because that was not part of her design. Well, on the runway, the skirt fell down.

Swetha simply picked it up and walked away, across the ramp.

Of course the tights were there, but it looks like skin, you know. “In those 45 seconds, you don’t know what happens, it is cruel to call it planned,” believes this actor-model.

Fashion designer Hari Anand thinks too much is read into wardrobe malfunctioning. If the shoes come off and the model carries them away, that is also wardrobe malfunction, but nobody pays attention to it.

Having the top come down is also like that, he says – a mere accident. “But these accidents can be avoided if trial fittings are meticulously done. Usually models come down just for a day and there is no time for proper trial fittings. Lack of proper backstage management is the main reason for wardrobe malfunctioning,” feels Hari.

“Any publicity is good publicity in this business,” says Shalini James of Mantra. “The hype factor is crucial in this business. It is a fact that rarely does the content of the work count as much as the hype that surrounds it.” Shalini wonders about the direct correlation between the hype and the sale of the entire collection.

But she sounds a note of caution. “In this industry, things like these are bound to happen. And Rajesh Pratap does not need to pull stunts such as these for his collection to sell.”

Maria Babu, a designer adds, “During events like these the backstage is chaotic and it is perfectly normal for things such as these to happen. But in the Indian context one has to be cautious because such things are not taken too well.”

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