Icons go out of style

In the dim starlight ofher plush South Delhi home, 72-year-old Maharani Gita Devi of Kapurthala isevery bit a portrait of aristocratic grandeur. Her moist eyes flickerceremoniously as she reminisces, ���I was 16 and barely out of school when Imet Maharani Gayatri Devi on a visit to Calcutta during the ongoing polo season.I remember being awestruck at her unique beauty. Unlike modern- day societyladies, sans any heavy make-up or ornate jewellery, she exuded an innate charm.One could just look at her for hours.��� As India mourns theloss of its two most serenely beautiful icons - the enigmatic actress LeelaNaidu and the alluring Maharani Gayatri Devi, have we bid farewell to the lastof our fashion icons? Designer Ritu Kumar, who spent many months in the companyof the late Maharani, researching for her book Costumes and Textiles of ModernIndia says, ���I remember her telling me about her role model-her motherMaharani Indira Devi of Cooch Bihar. She was the first person to start the trendof wearing chiffon saris. Widowed at an early age, she travelled all the way toFrance to specially have nine-yard, chiffon saris created for her in the loomsof Lyon.���Kumar adds, ���That was real glamour. Style iconsof yore like Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Gayatri Devi or even Grace Kelly andAudrey Hepburn remain frozen in time, because they exuded a fairytaleforeverness. These women were all natural beauties whose star appeal lay intheir subtle sensuousness, unlike the in-your-face sexuality that���s thrustin our faces today.���In a celeb-driven culture, thriving onfrenzied cosmetic corrections, size zero fetishes, overbearing stylists andglitzy brand endorsements, the standards of beauty are now clinically synthetic.Kalyani Chawla, VP-marketing and communication, Christian Dior India, says aboutthe changing face of Indian beauty, ���Beauty emanates always fromwithin...as clich��d as it may sound. Madhubala, Leela Naidu or an EanPatchette inspired generations of poets, writers, photographers and artists.Their intrinsic grace, ���adas���, simplicity and lack of exposure lentthem a timeless mystique. No botox or plastic surgery, no cakey make-up and nopushy agents. These were personalities. That age of innocence is lostforever.��� Under constant pressure to conform - thebench-marking of what constitutes beauty is being defined by our matinee idols.Tikka Shatrujit Singh, group advisor to the French fashion conglomerate LouisVuitton, remarks, ���The film industry is today���s fashion aristocracywith the media chasing their every move. No one talks about Sonia Gandhi���simmaculate sense of dressing. We���re losing our DNA - we���re busyaping Hollywood style trends rather than nurturing our culturalheritage.���As the PYTs of tinsel town dictate���what���s in vogue,��� why is it that we don���t have anyyoung fashion icons emerging in India? Chawla replies, ���There���s ajadedness creeping into actresses in their 20s. Over-exposure and the attitudethat they must achieve all that they have to before they���re offeredcharacter roles or another crop of youngsters take over is resulting in aharshness and maturity that���s beyond their age. Blogs, agents andinternational reps are a necessity. The constant pressure to be someone shows asthe beauty within is lost.���As exclusivity makes way foraccessibility, icons are being replaced by clones. The editor of atop celeb magazine claims, ���Today a Priyanka Chopra, Kareena or a SonamKapoor all want to be styled from head to toe and with the influx ofinternational brands flooding India - they���re spoilt for choices. So, aceleb just ends up following trends that are imposed on them by the fashionhouse that���s signed them up. There���s no room for originality.���Kolkata-based designer Sarbari Dutta, who was flooded with requeststo recreate Abhishek Bachchan���s ���trousseau look��� after shedesigned some of his wedding clothes, claims, ���Today, thanks to theincessant media exposure and the mass availability of fashion - stars and theirstyle statements are within everyone���s reach.���So, if youliked Kareena���s tee and patiala combo in Jab We Met, you can buy it offthe shelf from a retail outlet that���s probably mass producing thefilm���s clothes line, or drop into a beauty parlour demandingPriyanka���s bob style from Fashion or flaunt Jodha Akbar jewellery on yourwedding day. Image guru Dilip Cherian says, ���There���s no sense ofcharacter in an age of experimentation.��� Mourning the death ofyesteryears��� fashion icons, designer Nikhil Mehra adds, ���Look at thenumber of Fashion Weeks - it���s all a big circus! Modern fashion icons aretransient entities.��� Be it Marilyn Monroe���s raw sexappeal, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis��� high brow sophistication orRekha���s Greta-Garboesque persona and Gayatri Devi���s royal chic -what places these fashion legends a few notches above in the rat race? A popularfashion website claims, ���All acclaimed style icons find what suits themand stick with it. A constantly changing wardrobe might not be completelyglamorous after all.���Maharani Gayatri Devi put it best,���Style comes naturally to me. You���re just born with it.���