Hot off the ramp

Hot pants apart, Indian designers are pushing the Indian silhouette and colour label in their designs for men, states Archana Jahagirdar

If you are a man, circa 2009, the clothes on offer alternate wildly between come-hither hot pants to royalty inspired clothing where yardage is used with gay abandon. The trends on show at the Van Heusen India Men’s Week (VNIMW) made another thing quite clear. Reed thinness, a female fashion malady so far, is soon to strike men as well. Almost every designer (21 labels showed at the event) put out versions of the skinny trousers. First-timer Himmat Singh Jaipur, whose show impressed both the buyers and the critics, put his models into jodhpurs and if not that, they had to suffer slim pants. Kotwara, the label by Meera and Muzaffar Ali, channeled the royal Awadh look, which meant that there was space for loose payjamas below kurtas but here too, the skinnies made a prominent appearance. The only good thing about the appearance of such fitted lowers is that men and women can together share endless meals of water and lettuce to keep the calories off. The suffering of starvation will now be equally shared.

Former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi may have abolished the privy purses, current Congress President Sonia Gandhi may ask those in her party with royal antecedents to not use their titles, but fashion doesn’t tire of royal references. J J Valaya, whose label has its own coat of arms, a full-on declaration of royal intent if ever there was one, showed flowing Indian silhouettes as well as more fitted clothing. Himmat Singh Jaipur too looked towards his home state and its royals for inspiration. The Congress party and the UPA may want to please the aam admi but Indian fashion designers are equally keen to put that aam admi in touch with the country’s blue-blooded past.

There were some designers who tried more modern interpretations of their heritage. Designer Rajvi Mohan, who has, in the past, moaned the lack of space and spotlight on men’s wear, did a splendid job of showing a fun, colourful line that could be placed at par with the best in the world. Buyers noticed her line as did the consumers, which means that the Indian man is ready to experiment with colours. Mohan also captured what those already in the men’s retail business are saying: casual wear is the segment that is most likely to boom in this genre.

Fightercock by Abhishek Gupta and Nandita Basu believed that layering and the use of Indian motifs is the way to get the fat cat male to loosen his purse strings. Beautifully printed shirts with jackets that made full use of understated flowery designs were stylish without being uncomfortably dandyish. Nitin Bal Chauhan, Samant Chauhan and Zubair Kirmani showed together and each showed a different idea and period.

Bal Chauhan’s target group is someone who trips on acid and grunge and is still rebelling against the establishment. There were therefore plenty of piercings on show, chains jangling from skinny jeans pockets and T-shirts that had to make a statement. Chauhan’s man had crossed that pimply pre-pubescent stage and was off on a nautical journey wearing some of the best tailored clothing during the event. A nautical theme indicates a brawny man who isn’t in touch with his feminine side, but two models did walk down in what can only be described as skirts (one full length and one just touching the knee). To offset that maybe, Chauhan sent out models in hot pants with detailing in areas that needen’t attract attention in public.

Kirmani decided to ignore the thematic indulgences of his designer colleagues and instead put up a show that was clean with T-shirts that were adult in their design as well as colours and suits that would please many of our film stars and politicians, so matchy-matchy were they. This brand new idea of matching the jacket and trousers was once derided by fashionistas. Only someone gauche and therefore the object of everyone’s smirky smiles would wear matching clothes in public. Now it’s the fashion police which is insisting that this is what one must do to keep up with the posh people.

Just when stuffy corporate offices are coming to terms with Friday dressing, designers are pushing that idea further by putting forth hot pants. This garment is a difficult customer to pin down. Shorts are masculine, hot pants are items that indicate the possibility of a seduction, gay style. Who then should even step into a store to buy one? The very brave or the very fit. Considering the paucity of both categories didn’t stop everyone starting with Rohit Bal onwards to show this particular garment with alarming regularity.

Rajesh Pratap Singh, who has by now a legion of followers, showed that he is equally at ease making men look as stylish as he does women. Understated, well-tailored, muted colours offset by brilliant red, Singh’s label Pratap should have all those desiring to be called well-dressed lining up at his doorstep.

The three-day event didn’t adhere to any one colour palette or season or sensibility but that meant that there was freedom from rigid trend adherence and the ability to wear as you please.