Fashion Shows & Nakshatra

Before Charles Fredrick Worth pioneered the use of live mannequins in the late 19th

Century, Haute couturiers had traditionally visited clients at home for fittings.

From one-on-one interaction to the engagement of models as a vessel to communicate fashion, the foundation of fashion shows was built as we know it today.

The key ingredients to an exceptionally excellent fashion show are a contemplative theme, a well-coordinated team and a well-designed programme.

Shimmery attires, glamorous models and dazzling catwalk are the things that we tend to associate with a fashion show. But it is not so. A fashion show is a very vast idea. It is a form of expression for both the creator and the wearer. A fashion show is an opportunity for a designer to point out a specific mood or point of view, aesthetic or spread awareness about a message. As a result, fashion shows tend to be more conceptual and focused on a better level idea.

Nakshatra, the fashion society of Hindu College, since its inception in 1990, has worked with various budding fashion designers and models. Various shows have been organised, including The Forbidden, Maya and Karma.

TABOO or THE FORBIDDEN

Igniting the sparks of knowledge, this show talks about the various stereotypes that are locked inside the closet and are usually not talked about, to understand that the individual, who preserves his Dharma, his Artha and his Kaama, is the one who does not become a slave to his carnal desires and is the one who emerges victorious and marches towards pride. The show depicts sex slavery, transgender, lust, femininity in men, masculinity in women, and various other social taboos. The show uses various shades of black, white, pink, golden and red, while trying to reach out to the mass, and spread awareness on the pertaining issues.

MAYA

This show portrays lust for power, wealth and prosperity. It is very intellectually designed. It talks about Maya's seven aspects- Lust, glutton, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride.

What is Maya? It means illusion—an illusion where things appear to be present but are not what they seem.

Using the complementary tints of black and golden, defining darkness and illumination, the chain of models primarily presented illusion and Maya's cosmic nature. Once you achieve something, you want more. You are trapped inside the prism of Maya or the circle of life.

"For what the spirit sees, creates a truth

And what the soul imagines is made a world."

What is Maya? Is she an illusion? Is she a creative false? The show takes up all these abstract canvasses and, in essence, questions the mass, if they surrender to happiness or if they surrender their happiness.

KARMA

This show is much elaborated, goes above and beyond the previous two, portraying a semi-social semi-intellectual theme, Karma, an abstract.

The dictionary defines Karma as "(in Hinduism and Buddhism) the sum of a person's actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences."

कर्मण्येवाधिकारस्ते माफलेषु कदाचन। माकर्मफलहेतुर्भुर्मा तेसंगोऽस्त्वकर्मणि ॥

: You have a right to perform your prescribed duty, but you are not entitled to the fruits of action. Never consider yourself to be the cause of the results of your activities, and never be attached to not doing your duty.

Containing a collection of purples, a shade representing the mystical energy of the universe, energy of heaven brought down to earthly realms, a shade representing both the warmest (red) and the calmest(blue), a spectrum between the good (white) and the bad (black) karma, the looks in this show is quite unforgettable and jaw-dropping.

We think it is easy to define Karma in one sentence, but it is not so. The first sequence very gracefully explains this statement. Karma is a boomerang. Good or bad, whatever you put out in the universe will also be served to you. The conflict between the benevolent and the malevolent, the "cosmic duality", is portrayed by the next series of models. There is some good in all that is evil, and there is some evil in all that is good; an ancient Chinese philosophy describes this concept of dualism as how seemingly contrary forces may be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world and calls themselves "Yin and Yang". Subsequently, the endless cycle of suffering or birth, death and rebirth, the "infinity knot" is explained.

Sometimes Karma stumbles. It stumbles upon the karmic differences we see in society. An innocent girl being raped, the death of a newborn, the social mockery or domestic violence. This show raises the question of the morality of Karma. Is it really what they truly deserved?Your actions define you, your present and your future. Karma has no deadline; it will come back to you. The wheel of Karma spares none. Ending on a contemplative note, the show asks the audience to introspect and retrospect and questions if they are ready to pay for their sins, virtues, and desires.

Collection wise, the models rocked different hues of purple, slits and frills, black and whites, reds and blues. The show was conceptually intricate and provided a visual feast for the eyes.

-- Kirti Madhu