Are you fashionably spiritual?

Fashion designers seek inspiration for their work from many sources More often than not their designs are influenced by heritage social events tradition and their own frame of mind Thus you have creations influenced by punk rock tradition the Goth subculture the hippie culture ethnicities and even spiritualityDesigner Payal Khandwalarsquos creations at LFW 2012 Holy clothingIn the 1990s the spiritual look was popularised by Japanese designers such as Issey Miyake Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto Fashion purists such as Hussein Chalayan Ann Demeulemeester Mandeleine Vionnet and Mariano Fortuny created a fashion religion of their own by sticking to drapesSo what makes a piece of spiritual clothing stand out They are loosefitting and lightly hued and usually stick to ethereal pastels They have shades of colours universally associated with spirituality such as saffron white black and ecruHere comfort is key The fabrics are pure natural ecofriendly and often made out of biodegradable linen cotton Tencel Modal Ahimsa or Eri silkA Wendell Rodricksrsquo creation at Lakme Fashion Week 2012The garments which often include religious symbols emblems and images of gods and saints are also funky casual wear for manyFashionably spiritualAfter his move to Goa in 1993 fashion designer Wendell Rodricks designed clothes inspired by nature and concepts like minimalism The designer explains that the weave fibre style or even a philosophy can influence a designerrsquos creations ldquoI have not wavered from my minimalist resort ecofriendly philosophy While designing a collection I go into a spiritual space to keep my mind clear and focused For 25 years I have battled against the market which dictates that clothes should stand out But I want my wearerrsquos personality and persona to stand outrdquo he explainsOne of designer Vaishali Shadangulersquos creations from her AutumnWinter 2012 collection Khawja inspired by spirituality His Clothing the Soul collection at IGEDO Dusseldorf in 1995 Goa Spa collection at fashion show Preacutetaporter Paris in 2008 and Eco Goa collection at Nuremberg in 2012 were heavily influenced by the colour white ldquoIn fact for my Wills India Fashion Week October collection this year called Yoga Calm I have returned to that yogic space of mind The whole energy istransmitted from the fabric to the designerrsquos mind to tailorsrsquo hands and eventually to the wearer Most people donrsquot believe this But I do feel there is a cosmic connectionrdquo the designer stressesAnavila Misras creation at LFW 2014Designer Vaishali Shadangulersquos first collection inspired by spirituality was Khawja AW 2012 influenced by concept of truth Her Anhad SS 2013 collection explored the many layers of a human mind and how while on a quest for spirituality one removes the layers and comes in contact with the inner self ldquoColours such as black and white justify a spiritual garment Fabrics should be handwoven which keep the purity alive Silhouettes are either sleek straight cuts or in drapes and layersrdquo explains Shadangule adding that simple yet detailed texturing will help the garment stand outWellknown artist and fashion designer Payal Khandwalarsquos collections always revolved around themes like serenity and Zen ever since her first SS 2012 line PLAY ldquoTwo years ago I created a collection inspired by the sadhu and the samurai for LFW Winter Festive 2012 which drew a parallel between the two I felt that besides the obvious differences there were also similarities between the two For instance both are disciplined spiritual and strongrdquo explains Khandwala ldquoI find collections that are too literal gimmickyrdquo she continues ldquoSo for me the collection should evoke a mood that transcends the physicality of the clothes without having to stick a picture of Gautam Buddha on the garment The outfit should be dramatic but in a subtle way And it should rely on restraint rather than excessrdquo she elaboratesA hit with the massesSo how popular are these clothes among customers According to the fashion police reactions waver between hate and love However such designers are not worried about money points out Rodricks ldquoI am sure Sonam Dubal does not care about his price tag He brings the Himalayas to us via his beautiful clothesrdquo he addsSangita Sing Kathiwada founder of Melangeacute an ecofriendly fashion store which retails conscious clothing agrees ldquoOur customers love such clothes as they are weather friendlyrdquo she points out ldquoWe have designers such as Eka Savio Jon 1111 CellDesign and Anavila Misra who is wellknown for creating lovely linen and natural fibre saris who design for this category The clothes are made from organic cotton khadi and linen These easytowear garments come in white offwhite and earthy shadesrdquo she addsIt certainly looks like spirituality is the in thing