Actor-comedian Vir Das has made a serious and sincere effort to push social messages, such as scrapping article 377 of the constitution to favour homosexuals, with a cool and funky t-shirt range that's part of his latest foray into designing. He says these are messages everyone should flaunt with pride.
When IANS asked Vir about the whole idea of coming up with such interesting one-liners and discussing social messages through t-shirts, the "Delhi Belly" actor said: "To incorporate homosexuality messages is to scrap article 377. I think we all, as progressive and open-minded people, feel strongly about it. That's the message you should wear on chest and wear on body."
One such message on a t-shirt reads: "Guess the homosexual". It is followed by icons of similar looking faces, and in the end it reads "exactly".
Vir showcased his debut collection as a designer on the runway of Lakme Fashion Week Winter-festive 2015 here. He launched the quirky clothing line under his company Weirdass Comedy.
There are also boxer shorts, which Vir has conceptualised himself, and he has even created t-shirts dedicated to Bollywood's star comedian Govinda.
"I'm a Govinda fan. He is the greatest comedy actor that we ever had in India and also a dramatic actor. If you are a Govinda fan, you should wear such t-shirts," Vir said.
Standing true to the name 'Pret-A-Funny', his show was one of its kind in the history of fashion world for the number of showstoppers that turned up. From Taapsee Pannu, Aditi Rao Hydari, Shazahn Padamsee, Kunal Roy Kapur, Sophie Choudry, Ali Fazal, Cyrus Sahukar and Neil Bhoopalam.
There were several popular faces turning up on the ramp to show the designs of Vir, who says he doesn't know anything about fashion, but his collection is an attempt to show his personality through clothes.
"I don't know anything about fashion and I don't know why I am here. I really like t- shirts and your t-shirts convey a lot about who you are," he said.
Asked if he plans to participate in other fashion weeks too, Vir said: "If I am invited to a fashion week, then why not? It will be greater, funnier. Everything in life is an opportunity, so we will try hard to come back."
The price point of the t-shirts vary from Rs.599 to Rs.899, and Vir plans to expand his offerings with sneakers, ties, bow-ties and sunglasses in future.
(Nivedita can be contacted at nivedita.s@ians.in)
