Fashion Fusion: Where East Meets West

The Indian fashion industry has grown several fold and is all set to ascend still further, and Whistling Woods Neeta Lulla School of Fashion organized a never before event where renowned fashion experts came together to discuss just how this change would come about. ‘The Future of Fashion Forum’ was held on 25^th January, 2014 and touched upon several themes relevant to the Indian fashion industry.

Amongst the topics that were discussed, the emergence of luxury brands, growth of fashion retail and significance of e-commerce were hot topics. The event ended on a very stylish note with an exchange on the Influence of Western Silhouettes in the Indian Hemisphere and who better than the styling elite to talk about it! Tanya Ghavri (Celebrity Stylist), Pearl Shah (Fashion Stylist) and Ekta Rajani (Fashion Director of Grazia) graced the stage.  

Right until the turn of the millennium in 2000 there was a sense of east emulating the west. The presence of fashion weeks in our country brought about a change in this thinking and Ekta Rajani believes that the future of contemporary Indian fashion is bright. We are appreciating and loving what we do here and adapting to the global lifestyle instead of looking westward. Tanya Ghavri agrees and adds that there is awareness; people want to know about global fashion for which social media, Bollywood and fashion magazines are popular channels of discovery and exploration. What is beautiful to Ekta is to see a lot of Indian designers using Indian fabric in the western context, thus creating space for these contemporary designers. The fusion of east and west by some leading designers is truly stunning.

Ekta continued by defining the role of a stylist, whose main role lies in expanding upon one’s sense of individuality. People are making an effort to dress and look their best, and this is where a stylist comes into play. A designer will work with a person’s look, whereas a stylist plays with separate elements and helps a person define their own personal sense of style. A stylist puts things into context, contextualizing from the hair to the makeup to the shoes to the right kind of accessories, making sure nothing is overdone.

To Pearl Shah, fashion is closely linked to trade. A stylist has to be versatile, like a Chameleon, changing styles from one to another and yet another depending on what they seek. The advice to young aspirants was to take a year off and do an internship, explore your options and see what works best for you. Style and Fashion are such ubiquitous elements of the society that it is always in a state of evolution and one cannot wait to see what tomorrow’s fashionistas have in store for us!