Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | NXg | Friday Review | Cinema Plus | Young World | Property Plus | Quest |

Gaga over gowns

When at the Cannes Film Festival, it was Aishwarya Rai’s gown that was being discussed and criticised, at the Oscars this year, it was Freida Pinto who wowed everybody in her much talked about flattering blue John Galliano gown that even won her a place amongst the best dressed on the red carpet.

Now that’s the international forum we’re talking about when one would have to compete with the likes of Jennifer Aniston who invariably ends up looking fab,

Penelope Cruz who looked dashing in her vintage Balmain dress and Anne Hathaway who donned a shimmery Armani gown at this year’s Academy Awards.

Closer home at the 54th Idea Filmfare Awards, most of Bollywood’s women preferred wearing long and flowy gowns, although a handful like Kareena Kapoor and Bipasha Basu appeared in saris. So have western gowns come to replace saris for formal occasions?

“Definitely not!” opines Akanksha Gupta, a fashion designer at Madura Garments. “In India, it is usually women in the age group of 18 to 29 who might prefer wearing gowns over saris. But with age, and the change in body shape and structure, not many women would feel comfortable in a gown. Moreover, the sari has a charm of its own which is another reason why no other western outfit can replace it suitably.”

In the light of the fact that the gown owes its origin to foreign shores and that the typical Indian woman is more curvaceous than her western counterparts, it is important to understand the kind of colours, silhouettes and fabrics that are best suited for gowns for the desi girl.

According to Bangalore based designer Divya Tater, “Colour, silhouette and fabric have to be well complemented and blended because the gist of the design lies in the hands of this facet.

Simplicity is what stands out!” The reds and blacks are very popular but now baby pink, purple, electric blue, shimmery white and bottle green are providing stiff competition to the regulars. Fashion designer Ameetha Mathew believes, “The colour of the gown must complement one’s skin tone and body shape.”

While the empire waistline is most common and looks good on a pear shaped body, Akanksha says “Today’s cocktail gowns are inspired by the bell or the Victorian silhouette that is narrow at the top. Strapless gowns are the way to go this season and the younger crowd prefers off shoulder, tubes and other revealing designs and patterns.” As far as fabric goes, Ameetha says, “One should opt for flowy materials like satin.” According to Akanksha, “Lycra, satin, net, polyester and even tissue are the most preferred, by Indian women. It’s all about looking shapely and comfortable at the same time.”

Sandra Britto, a modelling aspirant feels, “Women who prefer to wear gowns over saris have their reasons for this kind of bias. It depends on how comfortable she feels in a gown, who she hangs out with, where she socializes and the nature of work she engages in.” Wearing a sari for your wedding used to be the done thing. Now, Indian girls, by and large, irrespective of religion and tradition choose to wear a gown on their big day.

Suma Noronha, who walked down the aisle recently says, “As a child I’ve always dreamt of my wedding gown so I obviously ended up wearing a gown for my wedding. Apart from that, the gown also went with the theme we had chosen.” Some opt for gowns because their better halves are of a different nationality.

Still others wish to wear gowns at their weddings because of the venue or the kind of invitees and finally there are some who confess that aping the west is something natural even at the time of getting married!

NEETI SARKAR

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail