United colours of bandhini

Indo-western fusion wear is in, writes Meeta Bhatnagar in Atlanta Diary.

Ah! The fashion cuppa floweth over. The bright and exciting advent of India into Atlanta can be seen as a more colourful seizure than anything else.

As the summer heat simmers and piles of people flock to pools and other such oases of water and ice, haute cotton skirts from Rajasthan along side equally zany kurtis from Punjab and sprightly morjaris from both these places are on the ride of a lifetime.

Trendsetting for this summer markedly is the quintessential Indo-western fusion wear that has been in vogue forever back in Delhi and Mumbai. A decidedly enthusiastic response to typical Indian handlooms and artistic renditions in palette and texture has prompted significant retail stores and marts here including Rich's, J C Penney, DSW, Wal-Mart, K Mart, Old Navy etc to incorporate a huge canvass of such offerings in their product catalogues this summer.

While handicrafts from India, especially from Rajasthan, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh have always had an enormous market and appeal abroad, the echelon of mass popularity that is a more recent phenomenon has been unprecedented this season.

Due to the laudable efforts of Indian designers such as Ritu Beri, Anand John and even Bollywood makeover architects as Manish Malhotra, the spectrum and choice inherent in any type of Indian wear has been gaining astounding popularity consistently over the last few years.

Cross over fashion - that's what it is called commonly. It is not surprising to see how a simple phulkari kurta, the kind worn by a village belle in a simple hamlet somewhere in the heart of Punjab can be coupled with low rise capris and draped by a frappucino sipping Georgia tech student in Atlanta. But this spanking new hybrid reality extends beyond 'mix and match, this-n-that' kinda teaming up. The popularity of summer dolling up and that too mainly in the ladies-wear product category is worthy of note.

Like Northern India the summers in Atlanta and the greater part of Georgia are long and severe, if not harsh. The demand therefore for anything cotton, anything easy on the eye and the skin and anything manageable is always on the go. Indian cotton in the form of skirts, tunics, kurtis and trousers is a welcome sight for many shopping-sore eyes in the given context. Stores therefore overflow with patterns familiar to the globe trotting Indian such as bandhini, phulkari, mirror work, and Lucknowi chikkan work, to a lesser degree.

Interestingly, chikkankari, which is stylised more on georgettes and synthetic yarn, though rampant at home is not all that popular here. It is the preponderance of cotton and work-on-cotton that is giving everything else a run for its money.

A fascinating variation of the simple skirt and shirt rig is the Rajasthani beachwear sarong and bathing suits made out of tie and dye fabric in bright colours. Displayed readily in high fashion stores, these bits and pieces form a mosaic of shimmer and verve and bear price tags that are shamelessly outrageous.

Chic footwear, accessories and jewellery too have notched up a hefty amount of dollar bills amidst the mercurial high-rise. As flip flops become the name of the game for Pedi-care in this sweltering heat, our very own Indian jute and jutis sneak into the ever expanding and not so expensive market for summer sandals. From wacky mirror work to fine embroidery, from coarse khadi to beaded cotton silk, bags with typical Indian motifs are all over the place.

So, while the Hare Rama Hare Krishna saffron and hippie trend metamorphoses into embossed images of our deities on shirts and bags, and while tattooing makes full use of ancient Indian symbols of prosperity, happiness and peace, Fash-India joins the bandwagon readily claiming its own piece of the cake. For what sells for a hundred bucks at Janpath and Fashion Street sells for a whopping $75 in the Mall of Georgia. No one's cribbing.

As the demand for individually crafted pieces goes up, the zeal to create more such demand seems to grow bigger. Indian merchants and export houses are not complaining. They seem to be saying; if you want fashion India on the beach, so be it. If you want it for a morning jog, so be it. If you want to slip into it at night, we sure can arrange it. And if you want it as a victory sash around your shoulders, we'll tighten the noose! Bring it on; brand India is zany, fab, trendy, hot and hip. It ain't personal, it just business as usual.