'If women want to flaunt it, what's the issue?'

Would you rip apart a Rs 50,000-dress if you didn't like it? Well, there are people who have made a career out if it. But some of India's best fashion writers seem surprisingly understanding when it comes to dare-bare models doing the catwalk.

Would you rip apart a Rs. 50,000-dress if you didn't like it? Well, there are people who have made a career out if it. But some of India's best fashion writers seem surprisingly understanding when it comes to dare-bare models doing the catwalk.

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According to Editor of ELLE fashion magazine Nonita Kalra, the issue of nudity on the ramp has been blown completely out of proportion. Often it is people who have little or no understanding of couture who are vaunt to talk about it.

"Indian women have become more comfortable with their bodies. They are more fit now and have also become more beautiful over the years. So if they want to flaunt it what's the issue? Why must we sensationalise the fact that there is exposure on the ramp and that models appear semi-naked? If a medium has certain demands, then those must be fulfilled. More importantly, what you see in fashion weeks or during shows is all tamasha. You certainly won't find the same stuff selling in designer shops, will you? Ramp clothes and model exposure are just for inspiration. Also, designers are catering to a limited audience who understand fashion. People who know the knick-knacks of it are cool; others always create a ruckus. Maybe fashion isn't for them," insists Kalra.

Kanika Gehlot, fashion journalist for the magazine, believes it is each designer's signature style that makes exposure meaningful or not. "There's been exposure on the ramp for as long as I can remember. Models used to sashay down in scanty outfits and still do. In fact there's more in store for the future. While I agree that body exposure is essential, it also depends on the designer. Every designer has his or her own style. For example, if a Ritu Kumar designs hot pants it would be quite unlike her. Bare skin however doesn't appear out-of-place when it's the demand of the outfit. A model may be required to show cleavage in an angrakha kurta. How else would you make the dress look sultry and traditional at the same time?

"Everyone loves to criticise and act as a moral police, but obviously you can't put a model behind bars for going topless. And no matter what, I guess people have pretty much accepted nudity as part of fashion on the ramp," she says.

Wendell Rodricks, the designer who also won accolades for his writings during the last two LIFWs, claims the use of naked bodies to shock is already passé. "I agree that fashion has always been bit of a skin show and designers are often criticised for this. Even though it's far more toned down now, you have to understand that you can't look at fashion from a layman's point of view. Moreover, what one sees on the ramp isn't for real. Body exposure helps create excitement. While a certain level of perfection was missing earlier, now nudity is used more for artistic expression than anything else. People are more comfortable with it and the shock value is therefore slowly getting diminished. But the logic of the ramp remains - if people talk about your clothes, it's a success because you have connected with them instantly," he says.