”Clothes aren’t going to change the world. The women who wear them, will”, said Carrie Bradshaw. Isn’t it mind – boggling? The vicissitudes of ‘fashion’ I mean can plummet an established fashionista to a poor ”has been” merely because she committed a fashion faux – pas. It can be scary, for the adoring minions, of this God, called fashion. Many a shame faced diva has slunk out of a party because she was not in the ‘wow’ category.
The vagaries of this flirtatious, trend setter, called fashion, often rides piggy back over the sedate, sombre nature of ”style”. Style is a person’s own trade mark; an original stamp of the aura of a human. Style spells YOU. It is a way to say who you are, without having to speak. Yet, most of us, at some time or the other, pay homage at the feet of trends set by wily designers and retailers who make a roaring fortune, after each season changes.
Well, full marks, to fashion, for popularity. If you can’t afford haute couture, you go to the fashion street in your town and you are ”with it.” It sweeps across towns and countries, till each girl is a clone or carbon copy of the other. The hair, the clothes, the accessories, all are identical. Often it is tough to tell one celebrity from the other because they have pinched and pulled themselves to look “in”. If only, dressing up was fun and not painful.
The joy of dressing is an art, said John Galliano. The great Yves St Laurent, proclaimed that fashions fade and style is eternal. He also said that, what is important, in a dress, is the woman, who is wearing it. I couldn’t agree more.
Lily Swarn is an internationally acclaimed poet, novelist, and essayist, author of 10 books. She is the 2023-24 International Beat Poet Laureate India and a Peace and Humanity ambassador. She can be reached at sukhish83@gmail.com.
