Ramp-age: Fashion, a victim of filmdom?

As '90s supermodel Milind Soman twirled the statuesque '80s ramp diva Shyamolie Varma around the dance floor at designer Hemant Trevedi's fiftieth birthday bash last weekend, the air was thick with nostalgia.
The two former models did, after all, make a pretty picture, all the inherent drama in their personalities on show amongst a closed group of the industry, one spanning several decades in fashion.
But appearances can be misleading. Because Soman, unlike his dance partner and unlike many present that day, had long made the crossover into films - an industry that's at the centre of much heartache and discussion in the fashion world at present.
When Soman was modelling, more than 15 years ago, the industry was still about models. Increasingly, and especially this year, it's about Bollywood (and, to an extent, about sportsmen and foreigners). Not everyone is thrilled.
Once upon a time fashion and film trod separate paths. But every era has its peculiar demands and as with art, fashion too reflects the zeitgeist of a society . In the age of instant celebrity, newer gods…So our once bountiful and buxom screen idols have now been replaced by size zeros, or more realistically, size fours and sixes. And they are the ones adorning covers, endorsing brands, grabbing eyeballs (Kareena Kapoor's 'size zero' is Sony Vaio's super slim dream come true). As advertisements and the ramp look more and more to the movies, the naysayers cry foul: "Let fashion be about fashion, not film!"
"I am against excess. If a star and a designer share a certain synergy of aesthetics, it's fine, but to have a Bollywood 'showstopper' at every ramp show, is more about seeking publicity than serving fashion. It's becoming beyond excessive," says designer Wendell Rodricks, who has been in the business for more than two decades.
Coordinator Vahbiz Vachha, who has seen the ramp industry change over 15 years, has similar concerns: "The person showcasing the clothes is irrelevant to the buyer. He's there to see the garment. So why should Bollywood be on the ramp? Why not fashion models?"
"It's illogical to piggyback on Bollywood. Fashion is a separate industry, it should be kept separate," argues model-turned-choreographer Alison Kanuga, echoing the views of not just a section of the fashion world but some fashion critics as well.
Yet, when international designers like Alexander McQueen put on over-the-top shows (with models in an asylum, or in a circus), they're doing it to generate headlines. So why not in India, where headlines are where Bollywood is?
In the absence of a real voyeur culture, the red carpet - where stars parade couture - is substituted here by ramp shows. And front row glamour abroad substituted by onramp glamour here.
Besides, who are we trying to kid? Everybody loves a good performance, and the ramp has always been about showing your stuff. The ends remain the same, only the means have changed - so why blame the "gimmickry" ? Yesterday, it was supermodels doing the theatrics, today it's actors.
Even as a fledging industry, fashion was as much about performance as it was about clothes. Shows were heavily choreographed, models needed to show drama on stage. Trevedi's own shows had virtual stories woven into the sequences. It was about entertaining your audience, selling them a fairytale in the guise of fashion. And to razzle-dazzle them: Dance, intense choreography, elaborate moves, being in sync with another model, all of which took three-day to week-long rehearsals.
Consequently, there were models who owned the room when they entered, say industry veterans. "There was drama," reminisces Queenie Singh, a former Miss India. "It was about the model. Today, nobody even knows the models." Former model Coleen Khan Affonso agrees: "There was presence. The models today have a wind-up doll, robotic quality."
Is this just a case of old-was-gold ? Or, as several style gurus complain , is there indeed a certain zombie-like sameness among the models of today? If so, would audiences really raise a hand in protest if in-yourface , look-at-me Bollywood ups the temperature a bit?
THE BUSINESS OF BEAUTY
Besides, fashion is above all a business. And nothing is as sureshot a seller as Bollywood. Model fees have soared from Rs 4,000-odd 15 years ago to Rs 40,000 for a top model on the ramp. Yet the big draw is not a top model, it's a film star. "Every client today wants a Bollywood presence," says event organiser Sharmilla Khanna. "In a recession-hit world, stars are regarded as better investment ." As for the business of fashion itself - plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose (the more it changes, the more it remains the same). It's an industry that's still heavily dependent on the celebratory season - the big fat Indian weddings and festivals - through booms and busts, recessions and revivals. "What recession?" a Dubai-based model shrieked in amusement. "I was recently flown here for a wedding in the capital. A make-up person and manicurist waited on us night and day. I met one of the leading make-up men. I asked whether he was participating in the fashion week that was on and he screeched in laughter , saying, 'I go for the money, honey . Weddings are where it's at. Fashion weeks don't pay my bills.'" Not that fashion's not flourishing. Fashion weeks are no longer the monopoly of Mumbai and Delhi. They're proliferating across the country - Kolkata, Pune, Hyderabad. We're living fashion today, it's not some distant inaccessible Intangible, however much it seeks to celebrate mystery. In a slowed-down economy , corporate branding is the way to go, and chain stores are happy to tie up with designers for everything from clothes to shoes to cutlery. Corporates and prêt have brought designer dreams to our doorstep. So why lament what fashion is losing when actually it's living and breathing now more than ever before, perhaps a less rarefied air, but certainly one that ensures its survival. (Even in countries like Pakistan , fashion is a way to fight off the grimness. According to a report, war correspondents were pulled out of neighbouring Afghanistan so they could report on the recent Pakistan fashion week.) Those international magazines we so coveted before all have Indian editions. The big brands are marching into the big cities. And with the game come the hunters: big name fashion critics, buyers, photographers - it's all one movable feast. All those magazines and brands - they're celebrating fashion, certainly, and with aplomb. Only, guess who's gracing their covers? All hail Lord Bollywood, recession-resistant and ready to please. Fashion worships a 'now' god: Who needs size zero on the Paris ramps when we have it right here, preening prettily at home sweet home? "Fashion magazines celebrate beauty. It is true, that in India, it's mainly Bollywood that now defines beauty. But we are celebrating it, celebrating ourselves," says Kanuga. (Plus, icing on the cake, the phoren now comes home to us: India's sweetheart, one of the reigning box office queens, is an import and considered lucky in a superstitious industry where fickle Friday, not fashion, dictates fortunes. Not surprisingly, she's a hot favourite for fashion covers.) Stylists, designers, make-up artists - the exodus to greener pastures means film and fashion's symbiotic relationship will only strengthen. One must adapt to survive, so too must style. Bollywood sells, and if it sells, it must be embraced, adored. Money fuels wars, why not fashion? Because there is a sense that more than audiences, it is the big name brands that are tipping the balance in Bollywood's favour. "Twenty years ago if I put Malaika Arora Khan on the cover of a magazine, I could wrap her in gauze and it would be okay. Today, the marketing team would insist that she wear a brand. It's about market forces, money," says Rodricks. Yet if fashion must piggyback on filmdom, whether in a symbiotic or a parasitic relationship, it is only to ensure its survival. In a world where most things are cyclical, fashion's fickleness is legendary. So too with stardom. Barring the odd marathon man, today's darling is more than likely to be tomorrow's has-been . Time and trends dictate who's Johnny-come-latest . So if Bollywood is where it's at currently, just pancake and pucker up - who minds a little moolah to go with the rouge?

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