The fashion fraternity is having a ball. A ball regardless of the worldwide recession. They are all over the place. It is party time for them, come summer or
winter. But winter is their heyday. After Diwali, heralding a mild winter comes the wedding season in full swing. Then Christmas preceded by rain and some nip in the air and possible snow in the upper reaches of the mountains. All this followed by chill winds in the plains. Good time to celebrate, time to dress up in the most updated way. The designers are out to make a killing, especially for the youngsters. People postpone their shopping to the next winter unless they have to go overseas and pack their bags with clothing made in India and not to be acquired with dollars. Yet the sun shines for the designer community. It’s bright, it’s cool, but not too cold. It’s hot, but only metaphorically. But it is not sweltering weather. It’s fun time. They are raking in the goodies. They are raking in the money. It’s not just the fabric that the rich and famous or the plain rich pay for. They pay for design, not just labels, but even more for names of designers, who will design exclusively for them, by the piece, not to be repeated, not for some time or some years to come. It’s not just Fashion TV, French style, although it is a very important outlet. For long Fashion TV had been blanked out from the cables as puritans in the government and the leading ruling party did not want to see too much exposure—not too much of belly buttons, boobs and butts, but the fashionistas won in the end. Fashion TV is back and it relays more than once the Indian fashions for an hour at a time as it does designers of the world, not just French or Italian, American or what have you. The designers have all kinds of clothing, for winter, for the autumn or the fall as the Americans call it when the leaves fall from the trees and turn pale. But all the time they have lingerie. The mantra is: buy more, wear less; dress less and show your limbs more. Even under heavy winter clothing, the models are supposed to drop the big coats to reveal themselves for a fleeting second. That’s titillation. That’s the name of the game. It’s not just white girls and boys only. Not any more. Black is beautiful. Brown or Asian is interesting. The models come in all colours, all nationalities, from all shores, to create the impression of novelty. That’s hard sell.

Even in India, the daughter of the Military Attache to the Zambian High Commission, Angela Sikweti, who has grown up in Delhi and been a student here, has taken to the ramp. From a distance, she has a fleeting resemblance with Naomi Campbell, at least in her contours. She is svelte, tall and has an attitude and is just 21. She brings what has been called the silken Afro touch to what were regarded as dry Delhi shows. She is a second-year Political Science student. She has been called a ‘scorcher’. She is making waves in town, that is Delhi, which has emerged as the Mecca of the fashionistas, although Mumbai is not far behind, because the big bucks are there more than Delhi. Also doing the rounds is another model, Yana Gupta, with European blood in her veins. She is Czech. She is truly audacious. She is also making an impact in Delhi. Models from Delhi have perforce to go to Mumbai to shoot and try to land roles in Bollywood. She has done it. She made it to a Bollywood fashion show called Mohabbat in a daring see-through top, part topless to lure the rich and famous, bold and beautiful. Her presentation has been described as spectacular and for company she had Sonali Bendre, Karan Johar, Rani Mukherjee, Tanuja and Kajol. She reached the top of the ramp charts, and she also sneaked into a Bollywood film. How? According to a fashion expert of Mumbai, a model can no longer be too slim; like Aishwarya Rai they have to be visible; therefore, they have to be plump. No restraints on cheese and fattening foods. Like the other Delhi girl, Miss India, Neha Dhupia, who has also put on weight to reach the Bollywood scene. Yana Gupta looked so ‘ample’ that there were murmurs of a silicon job. Whether true or not, she replaced another ace at the game, Bipasha Basu, in an item number in E. Niwas’s film, Dum. She hopes her item will be a sensual treat with choreographer Ganesh Hegde trying to do a classy job. That is what Mumbai is.

Yet Delhi has a place on the fashion map and everybody seems to come to Delhi, because it has salubrious weather for half the year and is more than the national capital. It has an oeuvre around it. It is the originator of many new trends. It is the fashion capital. Not just because the first campus of the National Institute of Fashion Design was set up here and is now many years old, and its regional campuses have been opened in several other big cities; nor that many of its alumni are leaders of the fashion pack; but all these factors add up; add up because a lot of people have started their own fashion design schools, not just in Delhi, but in other cities to meet the rising demand for designer clothes for the rich and famous. There is a craze for them as partying in a big way is the done thing and to dress up is in. The diplomatic whirl in Delhi and diplomatic missions doing their bit for the fashionistas is an important factor. Delhi has more than 100 missions and their national days are big dos on the calendar. With business and other delegations coming to Delhi by the dozen every month, fashion shows add lustre to partying. It is not just dance and music. There has to be much more.