New Delhi (India):”Who are you wearing?” The question has been around for a while, thrown at many well clad, sartorially efficient people at parties, social gatherings and of course, the much awaited fashion weeks.
Even at the Amazon Fashion Week which is happening right now, buzzing bloggers and street style photographers are going around asking this question to a motley of millennials who are dressed to impress.
But most of the time the answers are not what they hope for, as the responses they get are devoid of any designer names.
The people in question here are the new age radical dressers, the ones who do not and will not conform to the age old norms of dressing, let alone the trends in vogue.
They are men who pose in a translucent drape kurta paired with snazzy brogues and a nose ring to go, or a blood red jumpsuit with fringes on the side. On the other hand, women stand out sporting denim sarees with metallic shoes and glittered lips if not an oversized bomber jacket with sew on patches.
And who are they wearing? Themselves.
We are living in a day and age where individualism is thriving. Gone are the times when we ached to be the “cool dude” or the “popular kid” of the block.
Now, we just want our own style to thrive and unfazed by the world, we bring that out in what we wear.
The smorgasbord of fashion blogs and Instagram accounts documenting the personal dressing aesthetics of many are a standing testimony to the fact that they are a brand in themselves.
These fashion connoisseurs are their own designers, and models. They don’t need a ramp to showcase as they take to the streets one season a time sporting their latest thrifted wares or an online find, which is carefully curated and matched with their mother’s vintage scarf, or their grandfather’s military jacket.
“I feel like street style at AIFW was all about reinvention this time and people really took it to the next level by mixing up pieces in an interesting manner” said blogger Shaurya Mohan of Morphology Blog, whose style is an artful mixture of high street wear and thrifted goodies.
Aspiring model and fashion blogger Ishaan Singhal, dressed in a custom made floral printed ink drop suit, one of his own creations, echoed similar views.
“Many people think only designer wear looks classy and makes a mark, but what they don’t know is that out of the box wear with no heavy price tag attached to it can look much better than a luxury label. With time, the aesthetics have evolved from the basic to experimental editions of quirky wear. And people are now more fearless than ever about what they wear,” he stated.
It is also interesting to note that many styles that adorn the ramp do not usually come to life on the streets.
Many who do not have access to designer wear and yet have a flair for style, usually come up with interesting ways to mix and match.
Pramila, a design student, stood out at the AIFW in a saree made of handloom fabric from Seelampur which she paired with an embroidered top from everyone’s beloved Sarojini Market (which she scored for mere 50 bucks), looking raw, elegant and chic.
It’s easy to say now that gone are the days where a designer outfit was the only way you could sparkle, as these bold fashion adventurers are carving a niche for themselves in a world of big names by wearing their heart on their sleeves.
In these times when masses have started putting more thought into what they wear and how they carry it, these sartorial samaritans are redefining fashion in a radical way, bringing home something we all already know – the fact that ‘we are what we wear’. (ANI)