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In the dim starlight of her plush South Delhi home, 72-year-old Maharani Gita Devi of Kapurthala is every bit a portrait of aristocratic grandeur. Her moist eyes flicker ceremoniously as she reminisces, “I was 16 and barely out of school when I met Maharani Gayatri Devi on a visit to Calcutta during the ongoing polo season. I remember being awestruck at her unique beauty. Unlike modern- day society ladies, sans any heavy make-up or ornate jewellery, she exuded an innate charm. One could just look at her for hours.”
Maharani Gayatri Devi (PTI Photo)
In the dim starlight of her plush South Delhi home, 72-year-old Maharani Gita Devi of Kapurthala is every bit a portrait of aristocratic grandeur. Her moist eyes flicker ceremoniously as she reminisces, “I was 16 and barely out of school when I met Maharani Gayatri Devi on a visit to Calcutta during the ongoing polo season. I remember being awestruck at her unique beauty. Unlike modern- day society ladies, sans any heavy make-up or ornate jewellery, she exuded an innate charm. One could just look at her for hours.”
As India mourns the loss of its two most serenely beautiful icons - the enigmatic actress Leela Naidu and the alluring Maharani Gayatri Devi, have we bid farewell to the last of our fashion icons? Designer Ritu Kumar, who spent many months in the company of the late Maharani, researching for her book Costumes and Textiles of Modern India says, “I remember her telling me about her role model-her mother Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Bihar. She was the first person to start the trend of wearing chiffon saris. Widowed at an early age, she travelled all the way to France to specially have nine-yard, chiffon saris created for her in the looms of Lyon.”
Kumar adds, “That was real glamour. Style icons of yore like Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Gayatri Devi or even Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn remain frozen in time, because they exuded a fairytale foreverness. These women were all natural beauties whose star appeal lay in their subtle sensuousness, unlike the in-your-face sexuality that’s thrust in our faces today.”
In a celeb-driven culture, thriving on frenzied cosmetic corrections, size zero fetishes, overbearing stylists and glitzy brand endorsements, the standards of beauty are now clinically synthetic. Kalyani Chawla, VP-marketing and communication, Christian Dior India, says about the changing face of Indian beauty, “Beauty emanates always from within...as clichéd as it may sound. Madhubala, Leela Naidu or an Ean Patchette inspired generations of poets, writers, photographers and artists. Their intrinsic grace, ‘adas’, simplicity and lack of exposure lent them a timeless mystique. No botox or plastic surgery, no cakey make-up and no pushy agents. These were personalities. That age of innocence is lost forever.”
Under constant pressure to conform - the bench-marking of what constitutes beauty is being defined by our matinee idols. Tikka Shatrujit Singh, group advisor to the French fashion conglomerate Louis Vuitton, remarks, “The film industry is today’s fashion aristocracy with the media chasing their every move. No one talks about Sonia Gandhi’s immaculate sense of dressing. We’re losing our DNA - we’re busy aping Hollywood style trends rather than nurturing our cultural heritage.”
As the PYTs of tinsel town dictate ‘what’s in vogue,’ why is it that we don’t have any young fashion icons emerging in India? Chawla replies, “There’s a jadedness creeping into actresses in their 20s. Over-exposure and the attitude that they must achieve all that they have to before they’re offered character roles or another crop of youngsters take over is resulting in a harshness and maturity that’s beyond their age. Blogs, agents and international reps are a necessity. The constant pressure to be someone shows as the beauty within is lost.”
As exclusivity makes way for accessibility, icons are being replaced by clones.
The editor of a top celeb magazine claims, “Today a Priyanka Chopra, Kareena or a Sonam Kapoor all want to be styled from head to toe and with the influx of international brands flooding India - they’re spoilt for choices. So, a celeb just ends up following trends that are imposed on them by the fashion house that’s signed them up. There’s no room for originality.”
Kolkata-based designer Sarbari Dutta, who was flooded with requests to recreate Abhishek Bachchan’s ‘trousseau look’ after she designed some of his wedding clothes, claims, “Today, thanks to the incessant media exposure and the mass availability of fashion - stars and their style statements are within everyone’s reach.”
So, if you liked Kareena’s tee and patiala combo in Jab We Met, you can buy it off the shelf from a retail outlet that’s probably mass producing the film’s clothes line, or drop into a beauty parlour demanding Priyanka’s bob style from Fashion or flaunt Jodha Akbar jewellery on your wedding day. Image guru Dilip Cherian says, “There’s no sense of character in an age of experimentation.”
Mourning the death of yesteryears’ fashion icons, designer Nikhil Mehra adds, “Look at the number of Fashion Weeks - it’s all a big circus! Modern fashion icons are transient entities.”
Be it Marilyn Monroe’s raw sex appeal, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ high brow sophistication or Rekha’s Greta-Garboesque persona and Gayatri Devi’s royal chic - what places these fashion legends a few notches above in the rat race? A popular fashion website claims, “All acclaimed style icons find what suits them and stick with it. A constantly changing wardrobe might not be completely glamorous after all.”
Maharani Gayatri Devi put it best, “Style comes naturally to me. You’re just born with it.” [rc]
Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
August 9, 2009
INDIA: Icons go out of style
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NEW DELHI / The Times of India / Life & Style / People / August 9, 2009
By Sreemoyee Piu Kundu
Gayatri Devi’s pristine presence, Leela Naidu’s serene sensuousness, Meena Kumari’s tragic eyes and Madhubala’s million-dollar smile — these fashion icons put India on the beauty map of the world. But, were they the last of their kind, let's explore...
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In the dim starlight of her plush South Delhi home, 72-year-old Maharani Gita Devi of Kapurthala is every bit a portrait of aristocratic grandeur. Her moist eyes flicker ceremoniously as she reminisces, “I was 16 and barely out of school when I met Maharani Gayatri Devi on a visit to Calcutta during the ongoing polo season. I remember being awestruck at her unique beauty. Unlike modern- day society ladies, sans any heavy make-up or ornate jewellery, she exuded an innate charm. One could just look at her for hours.”
Maharani Gayatri Devi (PTI Photo)
In the dim starlight of her plush South Delhi home, 72-year-old Maharani Gita Devi of Kapurthala is every bit a portrait of aristocratic grandeur. Her moist eyes flicker ceremoniously as she reminisces, “I was 16 and barely out of school when I met Maharani Gayatri Devi on a visit to Calcutta during the ongoing polo season. I remember being awestruck at her unique beauty. Unlike modern- day society ladies, sans any heavy make-up or ornate jewellery, she exuded an innate charm. One could just look at her for hours.”
As India mourns the loss of its two most serenely beautiful icons - the enigmatic actress Leela Naidu and the alluring Maharani Gayatri Devi, have we bid farewell to the last of our fashion icons? Designer Ritu Kumar, who spent many months in the company of the late Maharani, researching for her book Costumes and Textiles of Modern India says, “I remember her telling me about her role model-her mother Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Bihar. She was the first person to start the trend of wearing chiffon saris. Widowed at an early age, she travelled all the way to France to specially have nine-yard, chiffon saris created for her in the looms of Lyon.”
Kumar adds, “That was real glamour. Style icons of yore like Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Gayatri Devi or even Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn remain frozen in time, because they exuded a fairytale foreverness. These women were all natural beauties whose star appeal lay in their subtle sensuousness, unlike the in-your-face sexuality that’s thrust in our faces today.”
In a celeb-driven culture, thriving on frenzied cosmetic corrections, size zero fetishes, overbearing stylists and glitzy brand endorsements, the standards of beauty are now clinically synthetic. Kalyani Chawla, VP-marketing and communication, Christian Dior India, says about the changing face of Indian beauty, “Beauty emanates always from within...as clichéd as it may sound. Madhubala, Leela Naidu or an Ean Patchette inspired generations of poets, writers, photographers and artists. Their intrinsic grace, ‘adas’, simplicity and lack of exposure lent them a timeless mystique. No botox or plastic surgery, no cakey make-up and no pushy agents. These were personalities. That age of innocence is lost forever.”
Under constant pressure to conform - the bench-marking of what constitutes beauty is being defined by our matinee idols. Tikka Shatrujit Singh, group advisor to the French fashion conglomerate Louis Vuitton, remarks, “The film industry is today’s fashion aristocracy with the media chasing their every move. No one talks about Sonia Gandhi’s immaculate sense of dressing. We’re losing our DNA - we’re busy aping Hollywood style trends rather than nurturing our cultural heritage.”
As the PYTs of tinsel town dictate ‘what’s in vogue,’ why is it that we don’t have any young fashion icons emerging in India? Chawla replies, “There’s a jadedness creeping into actresses in their 20s. Over-exposure and the attitude that they must achieve all that they have to before they’re offered character roles or another crop of youngsters take over is resulting in a harshness and maturity that’s beyond their age. Blogs, agents and international reps are a necessity. The constant pressure to be someone shows as the beauty within is lost.”
As exclusivity makes way for accessibility, icons are being replaced by clones.
The editor of a top celeb magazine claims, “Today a Priyanka Chopra, Kareena or a Sonam Kapoor all want to be styled from head to toe and with the influx of international brands flooding India - they’re spoilt for choices. So, a celeb just ends up following trends that are imposed on them by the fashion house that’s signed them up. There’s no room for originality.”
Kolkata-based designer Sarbari Dutta, who was flooded with requests to recreate Abhishek Bachchan’s ‘trousseau look’ after she designed some of his wedding clothes, claims, “Today, thanks to the incessant media exposure and the mass availability of fashion - stars and their style statements are within everyone’s reach.”
So, if you liked Kareena’s tee and patiala combo in Jab We Met, you can buy it off the shelf from a retail outlet that’s probably mass producing the film’s clothes line, or drop into a beauty parlour demanding Priyanka’s bob style from Fashion or flaunt Jodha Akbar jewellery on your wedding day. Image guru Dilip Cherian says, “There’s no sense of character in an age of experimentation.”
Mourning the death of yesteryears’ fashion icons, designer Nikhil Mehra adds, “Look at the number of Fashion Weeks - it’s all a big circus! Modern fashion icons are transient entities.”
Be it Marilyn Monroe’s raw sex appeal, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ high brow sophistication or Rekha’s Greta-Garboesque persona and Gayatri Devi’s royal chic - what places these fashion legends a few notches above in the rat race? A popular fashion website claims, “All acclaimed style icons find what suits them and stick with it. A constantly changing wardrobe might not be completely glamorous after all.”
Maharani Gayatri Devi put it best, “Style comes naturally to me. You’re just born with it.” [rc]
Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
In the dim starlight of her plush South Delhi home, 72-year-old Maharani Gita Devi of Kapurthala is every bit a portrait of aristocratic grandeur. Her moist eyes flicker ceremoniously as she reminisces, “I was 16 and barely out of school when I met Maharani Gayatri Devi on a visit to Calcutta during the ongoing polo season. I remember being awestruck at her unique beauty. Unlike modern- day society ladies, sans any heavy make-up or ornate jewellery, she exuded an innate charm. One could just look at her for hours.”
Maharani Gayatri Devi (PTI Photo)
In the dim starlight of her plush South Delhi home, 72-year-old Maharani Gita Devi of Kapurthala is every bit a portrait of aristocratic grandeur. Her moist eyes flicker ceremoniously as she reminisces, “I was 16 and barely out of school when I met Maharani Gayatri Devi on a visit to Calcutta during the ongoing polo season. I remember being awestruck at her unique beauty. Unlike modern- day society ladies, sans any heavy make-up or ornate jewellery, she exuded an innate charm. One could just look at her for hours.”
As India mourns the loss of its two most serenely beautiful icons - the enigmatic actress Leela Naidu and the alluring Maharani Gayatri Devi, have we bid farewell to the last of our fashion icons? Designer Ritu Kumar, who spent many months in the company of the late Maharani, researching for her book Costumes and Textiles of Modern India says, “I remember her telling me about her role model-her mother Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Bihar. She was the first person to start the trend of wearing chiffon saris. Widowed at an early age, she travelled all the way to France to specially have nine-yard, chiffon saris created for her in the looms of Lyon.”
Kumar adds, “That was real glamour. Style icons of yore like Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Gayatri Devi or even Grace Kelly and Audrey Hepburn remain frozen in time, because they exuded a fairytale foreverness. These women were all natural beauties whose star appeal lay in their subtle sensuousness, unlike the in-your-face sexuality that’s thrust in our faces today.”
In a celeb-driven culture, thriving on frenzied cosmetic corrections, size zero fetishes, overbearing stylists and glitzy brand endorsements, the standards of beauty are now clinically synthetic. Kalyani Chawla, VP-marketing and communication, Christian Dior India, says about the changing face of Indian beauty, “Beauty emanates always from within...as clichéd as it may sound. Madhubala, Leela Naidu or an Ean Patchette inspired generations of poets, writers, photographers and artists. Their intrinsic grace, ‘adas’, simplicity and lack of exposure lent them a timeless mystique. No botox or plastic surgery, no cakey make-up and no pushy agents. These were personalities. That age of innocence is lost forever.”
Under constant pressure to conform - the bench-marking of what constitutes beauty is being defined by our matinee idols. Tikka Shatrujit Singh, group advisor to the French fashion conglomerate Louis Vuitton, remarks, “The film industry is today’s fashion aristocracy with the media chasing their every move. No one talks about Sonia Gandhi’s immaculate sense of dressing. We’re losing our DNA - we’re busy aping Hollywood style trends rather than nurturing our cultural heritage.”
As the PYTs of tinsel town dictate ‘what’s in vogue,’ why is it that we don’t have any young fashion icons emerging in India? Chawla replies, “There’s a jadedness creeping into actresses in their 20s. Over-exposure and the attitude that they must achieve all that they have to before they’re offered character roles or another crop of youngsters take over is resulting in a harshness and maturity that’s beyond their age. Blogs, agents and international reps are a necessity. The constant pressure to be someone shows as the beauty within is lost.”
As exclusivity makes way for accessibility, icons are being replaced by clones.
The editor of a top celeb magazine claims, “Today a Priyanka Chopra, Kareena or a Sonam Kapoor all want to be styled from head to toe and with the influx of international brands flooding India - they’re spoilt for choices. So, a celeb just ends up following trends that are imposed on them by the fashion house that’s signed them up. There’s no room for originality.”
Kolkata-based designer Sarbari Dutta, who was flooded with requests to recreate Abhishek Bachchan’s ‘trousseau look’ after she designed some of his wedding clothes, claims, “Today, thanks to the incessant media exposure and the mass availability of fashion - stars and their style statements are within everyone’s reach.”
So, if you liked Kareena’s tee and patiala combo in Jab We Met, you can buy it off the shelf from a retail outlet that’s probably mass producing the film’s clothes line, or drop into a beauty parlour demanding Priyanka’s bob style from Fashion or flaunt Jodha Akbar jewellery on your wedding day. Image guru Dilip Cherian says, “There’s no sense of character in an age of experimentation.”
Mourning the death of yesteryears’ fashion icons, designer Nikhil Mehra adds, “Look at the number of Fashion Weeks - it’s all a big circus! Modern fashion icons are transient entities.”
Be it Marilyn Monroe’s raw sex appeal, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis’ high brow sophistication or Rekha’s Greta-Garboesque persona and Gayatri Devi’s royal chic - what places these fashion legends a few notches above in the rat race? A popular fashion website claims, “All acclaimed style icons find what suits them and stick with it. A constantly changing wardrobe might not be completely glamorous after all.”
Maharani Gayatri Devi put it best, “Style comes naturally to me. You’re just born with it.” [rc]
Copyright © 2009 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd.
