Beta, tumhari jeans phat kaise gayee? Trend that tore people’s wardrobes

After actor Rishi Kapoor’s hilarious take on the distressed clothing trend, we look at the two sides of the ‘phati hui jeans ‘debate.

“Ye phati hui jeans pehen kar ghar se bahar nahiiiiii jaogi!” Have you been subjected to similar admonitions from your folks, when you were just trying to be in vogue by slipping into a pair of tattered denims? Well, all owners of distressed denims would nod in affirmation.

Actors Parineeti Chopra, Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Anushka Sharma, Jacqueline Fernandez and Kareena Kapoor rock distressed denims.(Photos: Yogen Shah)

Recently, actor Rishi Kapoor cracked us up when he took a dig at a high street brand’s sale, as he posted pictures of ripped jeans and shredded tops that were on display in the store . “Buy two get one begging bowl free. Sale at Zara’s,” the veteran actor posted. Young people in the city say he is not the only one who finds the trend distressing.

Himani Chhabra, a 25-year-old blogger, posted on Facebook recently, “Shopping with mom is fun till she shouts from one corner of the store, ‘ye fatti hui jeans nahi leni!’ and everyone starts staring at you.” Anisha Singh, an 18-year-old student, has a similar story to share. “My mom doesn’t understand that distressed clothing is a big craze in the fashion world. She gets just too shocked every time I attempt wearing tattered clothes. I have no clue how to bridge this generation gap.” The older generation, however, don’t seem to be in the mood to change their mind. Bhavna Nigam, 45, mother of two teenage kids, says, “Youngsters these days do the weirdest of things in the name of fashion. I think ripped denims make you look like a pauper.” Kitty Khera, 55, who owns a boutique, agrees, “It’s a very silly trend. I think soon we are going to see ripped salwar suits and saris as well.”

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The experts’ take? Designer Rina Dhaka believes that it is to do with the feeling of belonging to a certain period of time, and elders should let young people be. “ When we are young, we overlook the obvious and we wear what is trendy. As we grow older, we become more cautious. Long ago, I wore my phati hui jeans bought from London to a beach dinner in Thailand. One of my husband’s friend remarked , ‘You must give Rina some money to buy good clothes.’ He was being helpful, thinking I am buying at thrift shops. He had no idea how much I had spent to look so tattered and distressed. So yes, let youngsters wear what they want to, as you would have done the same,” says designer Rina Dhaka.

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Designer Rahul Mishra, however, can relate to Rishi Kapoor’s tweet. “ I don’t think those T-shirts (the ones Kapoor posted) are even wearable. So, don’t blindly ape trends, use your brains . These are fads, which often go to extremes. In high fashion internationally, this distressed trend is not even there,” he says.