Curiousfashion

For global fashion industry, impact of coronavirus pandemic presents both crisis — and opportunity to recast itself

The fashion industry has taken a hard hit due to the COVID-19 crisis. From the material to the spiritual, the supply chain to the ideological basis of its existence — every aspect of the industry is being wrung out to dry because of what’s being called ‘fashion’s Darwinian shakeout’.

Rishi Kapoor (1952-2020): Saluting the actor, beloved star — and costume designer’s dream

From the oversized goggles in Bobby to the silver jumpsuit of Karz and the infamous sweaters in Chandni — Rishi Kapoor carried his screen costumes with a rare kind of dazzle.

New York City is not just epicentre of coronavirus pandemic, but of fashion history and women’s rights

Oh New York, New York. A city so incredible you say its name twice like a prayer.

Karl Lagerfeld's death signals the end of an era in grandeur and spectacle — and misogynistic, thin fashion

Karl Lagerfeld epitomised everything that (today) would be considered “wrong” with the fashion industry. But he also epitomised its voracious appetite for success, for global stature, for perfection, for reinvention season after season after season, for spectacle.

Fashioning the dancing body: Tracing the evolution of the Bharatanatyam costume, from Devadasis to modern times

Throughout history, Bharatanatyam costumes have walked a tightrope between revealing and hiding the female form, reflecting the underlying conflict between the sensual and the spiritual as it evolved

What is fashion doing in a museum? Notes on the spectacle that is the annual Met Gala

The Met Gala is a reminder to us that fashion is a visual record of our times. Only when we see it before us, in its historical and social contexts, will we be able to actually have a dialogue with it.

Courtroom fashion: What the clothes we wear in court say about us as accusers, the accused or witnesses

Even if you’re not the one on the stand being judged, you have to prove yourself ‘innocent’ to be heard in court. If you dress like a ‘good girl’ — submissive, feminine, asexual, obedient — your chances of this are higher. Dress like a ‘slut’ and you’re guilty already — of dressing like a slut, if nothing else. Women participate in this charade, intuitively knowing these extra-legal parameters against which they will be judged in courtrooms.

AI is making the fashion industry more intelligent — and expressions of style less individualistic

No amount of AI can create a Frida Kahlo or Lady Gaga; fashion delights us with its element of surprise, or when it cracks open a space for people’s own quirks to shine. An algorithm can do many things, but it can’t be you.

Victoria’s Secret models call #TimesUp on sexual harassment; is fashion industry's #MeToo reckoning here?

Victoria’s Secret came under the media glare when over 100 models signed an open letter asking that the company do more to protect its models from sexual harassment, after allegations came up against several of their photographers abusing their models, and of other shocking cases of sexual assault, rape and sex trafficking.

The problem is not how Greta Thunberg looks, but how we view young women

Greta Thunberg came to our laptops, phones and TV screens without make up, without formal dressing-up, or hairstyling. She came with pain in her eyes, and anger, and words that seared. Was it enough? Apparently not, for many men who commented on her looks and 'plainness' | Manjima Bhattacharjya writes in 'Curious Fashion'