The West side trend:Gujarati Kediya

Fashion trend is not always about clothes, accessories and how they are worn but also a reflection of a certain culture and inspirations derived from the same. Being multicultural as India is, we see the emphasis of a particular ethnicity every fashion season.

The recently developed love affair of the fashion industry with Gujarat has led fashion designers to redefine ethnic clothing. The same gets reflected in current Indian cinema and fashion shows. Patchworks, mirror-works, handloom fabrics, bandhani (tie and dye, layered lehengas, contrast cholis and use of playful, flamboyant color schemes, are the highlights of Gujrati tradition in fashion.

Traditional Kediya

Another significant aspect of Gujrat’s influence on Indian style is the Kediya garment of the Kutch region. The short, cross-over jacket like dress, fitted high waist and then flaring out, is a silhouette and garment suited to the harsh climatic conditions of the Kutch and makes a perfect western silhouette for women’s wear and in some cases for men.

This influence of the Kediya has largely reflected in the costumes of the recent Hindi film ‘Ramleela’ by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Cinema and fashion always go hand in hand and influence each other. The current fashion season sees a lot of Kediya influence with layered and flaring fabrics and vibrant colors, which were prominent in Deepika Padukone’s exquisite lehengas with heavy ethnic embroideries with subtler bottom layers in contrast colors.

Designer Anju Modi has successfully created an ethnic visual delight to with its robust colors set against blacks, ivories and reds. The effects are exquisite with contrasting colors and fabrics, silver work printing, dabka, zari embroidery and more.

Kediya also has a significant influence on works of other ace designers like Abraham and Thakore, Anupama Dayal, Rahul Misra, Manish Arora. Abraham and Thakore’s Chanel-style kedia skirt-suits, Pia Pauro’s mirron work kaftans are examples to look forward to.

Beyond the borders, ethnic influence of Gujrat is also showcased in the global Spring/Summer 2014 shows with celebrated designers like Valentino, Dries Van Notesn, Emilo Pucci and Diesel.