This week, focus on
>> What Paris, Dharavi and
Hollywood have in common
>> Why Rahman's a hit on the ramp
>> What Rahul Gandhi was up to at
NID's Ahmedabad campus
This week, focus on
>> What Paris, Dharavi and Hollywood have in common
>> Why Rahman's a hit on the ramp
>> What Rahul Gandhi was up to atu00a0NID's Ahmedabad campus
Dharavi ka Jamal Malik gives Dior designer reason to smile in recession
Maybe it's written. Like Jamal Malik, the chaiwalla from Mumbai who walked home with a cool crore on Who Wants to be a Millionaire in Oscar-nominated film Slumdog Millionaire, it was a beautifully bizarre coincidence that designer John Galliano took a bow to AR Rahman's triumphant tune, Jai Ho! at the end of the Christian Dior Haute Couture show in Paris, the day India celebrated its 60th Republic Day. "It was a proud moment for every Indian present in the audience," smiles Kalyani Chawla, VP, Marketing & Communications, Christian Dior (India).u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
With stubborn recession playing spoilsport, the luxury goods industry was the first sector to be affected. But some, like Galliano, are relentless when it comes to pursuing their role of being dream weavers.
"There's a credit crunch, not a creative crunch. Of course, everyone is being careful with discretionary purchases. I am. But it's our job to make people dream, and to provide the value in quality, cut, and imagination," the maverick designer told style.com. Suzy Menkes of International Herald Tribune termed the show "austerity chic! Let them eat cake delirium in the face of global gloom".
Jai Ho! has become a univocal theme for the resurrection of the human spirit, conveyed with severe sensitivity by filmmaker Danny Boyle. "Fashion can be uplifting too, and that idea was conveyed aptly by the song. Jai Ho! is about celebration rising out of hellish times, and Galliano chose it to urge us to get out of the gloom," Kalyani says about the show that had outfits inspired by Flemish painting.
Guy who used Rahman way before the firangs woke up, says:Funny you ask me about Rahman and the ramp, considering I am working on clothes for a song that's been composed by him for Mani Ratnam's Raavan, starring Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.
I don't "choose" music for my shows, it tends to inspire me before the clothes are even made. You listen to it, shut your eyes, and are left with a sort of cinematic vision. Certain music just fits in, and that's what happened with the Guru track that I used for the Lakmu00e9 Fashion Week finale show held in October last year.
Ai hairat-e-aashiqui from Guru is a beautiful number. The film was about a mature love story, and my clothes for that collection revolved around bridal wear.
Even if Rahman mixes regional and world music, he's a purist at heart. He had a gorgeous orchestra piece in that song, something you don't get to hear often. And that worked for me.
I also used the Tamil version of Dil hai chhota sa, because there's something quaint about regional music. Since the film (Roja) released 16 years ago, it's a sort of retro track, something that makes people smile.
Taking a bow to Jai HoBrit designer John Galliano's appearance is something bookies might want to explore cashing in on. He is the superlative showstopper of Christian Dior shows, with nail-biting suspense over whether he'll peek from the wings, or stroll on runway, while a team of four security guards take charge off the ramp. At the end of Christian Dior's Spring/Summer 2009 show, held on January 26, he took a bow to AR Rahman's Jai Ho! track.
Gandhi shares Rasgullas with NIDitesIt was like any other day for Rustom Mazda, a final year Product Design student at the National Institute of Design (NID) on January 30, until the clock struck 12.30. Rahul Gandhi strolled into campus with a frugal entourage of personal assistants and security guards. The agenda of this impromptu visit was to mingle with India's youth. So, he began with a meal of paneer, dal and rice at the NID mess. "The menu was far better than what's served otherwise. And Rasgullas were a delicious inclusion that day," laughs Rustom.
A brief interaction with NID Director Dr Darlie O Koshy and key administrators later, the Gandhi scion took a tour of the library, IT center and design vision centre, before settling for a duologue with the students in the welcoming amphitheatre.
The predictable, "What do you think of politicians?" was the first question thrown at the audience. "They are corrupt, selfish... we said. He asked for honesty and we gave it to him. But he was superbly diplomatic," recalls Rustom. The white pyjama-kurta clad Gandhi admitted to having little knowledge about design and drew parallels between IIT, IIM and NID. He also enquired why the youth were averse to joining politics, their active interest, he said, could help inject fresh ideas into a system run by senior citizens.
Everyone knows about the ornamental aspect to design. The students of NID chose to educate the young leader about its sustainable quality, and stressed on the importance of a special advisory design board in the Parliament. "He brought with him a positive, modern outlook just what the country needs right now. He was candid, shook hands with everyone from peons to watchmen, lecturers and students. He even gave me his personal email id to keep in touch," beams Rustom.u00a0
Fashion designer and lecturer at NID, Anuj Sharma missed out on the chance to interactu00a0 with Gandhi since he was travelling, but was happy that finally design was noticed.
