THE GREAT LIFE 20

GO SWISH

The Crest Edition

THE TIMES OF INDIA

SARI AS THE NEW BIRKIN

Handloom saris are finally becoming a status symbol. Even the Herv Lger bandage babes are sporting them in their zeal to look intellectual
he revival of Indian textiles is a subject that most fashion journalists, including me, love to wax eloquent on. I was recently interviewing Sabyasachi on the subject and he called the Raw Mango sari the new intellectual Birkin. The remark set me thinking about how traditional textiles are finally edging out the status symbols of the West. One of the key people behind this is Sanjay Garg, the man who founded the Raw Mango handloom saris which are almost as prized as the Herms handbag. The six yards are like works of art. They are traditional and still modern, quirky and fun. Such is their cool factor that the sari has become desirable to more than just a niche set. Even the bandage babes have turned to Indian textiles. The ladies who used to wear Herve Leger dresses have now begun to look at the handloom sari. This is also part of a larger trend: hosting a sufi evening is now seen as more exciting than organising a cocktail party, and a meal at Indian Accent is more coveted than sashimi and sake at Wasabi. This returnto-roots trend is a double-edged sword. Some women SUJATA ASSOMULL SIPPY are trying to wear a sari for the sake of it, teaming up beautiful handloom with some obnoxious corset top all in the name of being Indi-Cool. Innovation is fine but it needs to be done correctly. The Raw Mango sari is actually an example of innovation that stays true to tradition. It does not need any re-styling; bandage babes, please note. A handful of young Indian designers have also embraced the Indi-cool look, giving it their own very edgy and distinctive stamp. Over the past few years they have been making modern clothes with a truly Indian

FAB FABRIC: (Clockwise from above) The cool quotient of Sanjay Gargs saris has made them popular with more than the niche set. Both Nupur Kanoi, who has caught the eye of Bollywood, and Arjun Saluja, who is all about androgyny, are giving Indie-Cool a new vibe and their unique stamp

THE DRESS CIRCLE

soul. They use tradition in a way that pushes the envelope which is what true progress is about. Four years ago, Himanshu Shani and Smita Singh Rathore started a label called 11.11. Their silhouettes were innovative and they worked very closely with Indian crafts. It is this combination of craft and cut that has made their work stand apart. This is why women who have a true understanding of fashion, like Priya Paul, Feroze Gujral and Chiki Sarkar, have taken to their work. Bandhi-

ni, jamdani and khadi are given a fresh and surprising outlook. For instance, they have come out with a line of khadi denims. While indigo may have its origins in India and we are probably the largest supplier of denim there is nothing Indian really about a pair of jeans. Khadi-denim gives this fabric a new exciting feel and a true indigenous context. Rishta by Arjun Saluja is all about androgyny. The relationship between yin and yang is central to all his collections and this is what makes him stand apart. He is a sartorial style master and a pair of his trousers is truly a must in every womans wardrobe. But what makes it most interesting is that he does this in an Indian context. The Bu-Shirt meets dhoti, the lehenga pants are for both men and women, the salwar kameez and the Pathan suit are given a twist. His clothes are always a social commentary on the relationship between man and woman but also on Indian fashion with its international counterpart. In the 13 years, Arjun has been a designer, you

can see that the Indian signature is getting stronger and stronger; whether it is the use of motifs inspired by Islamic architecture or the recent introduction of the sari into his collection. He has achieved this without giving up his love for androgyny which today is better described as Ardhanareshwara. Nupur Kanoi is another designer who refers to androgyny strongly but in a very different way. A former fashion editor of a magazine, Nupur likes to juxtapose structure with flow and she also understands how to mix edginess with glamour. Thanks to this balance she has caught the eye of Bollywood. Neha Dhupia, Aishwarya Rai and Chitranganda Singh have

THIS RETURN-TO-ROOTS TREND IS A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD. SOME WOMEN ARE TRYING TO WEAR A SARI FOR THE SAKE OF IT, TEAMING UP BEAUTIFUL HANDLOOM WITH SOME OBNOXIOUS CORSET TOP ALL IN THE NAME OF BEING INDI-COOL
all worn her designs. Her most recent collection, Ladies and Gentlemen, teamed Nehru jackets with lungi sarongs. The colour palette was military while the metallic embroidery and soothing prints injected feminine charisma. It was no surprise when she won the Grazia Young Fashion Award for Indie Cool a week ago. So while the handloom sari may be now the way the bandage babe tries to show off her intellectual aptitude, it does go to prove one point. The modern Indian woman is now choosing to wear Indian. And this deserves all praise it can get.

JEWELLERY FAIR
A growing awareness about the importance of buying gemstones that are ethically sourced has Indian designers and buyers poised for a precious change
SHOBITA DHAR
TIMES NEWS NETWORK stones. And now, the trend is catching on in India. This week, Gemfields unveiled a jewellery collection in New Delhi of collaborations with designers the world over, including Indias Amrapali Jewellers, Bina Goenka and Farah Khan Ali. Tarang Arora, design and business head at Amrapali, which created a special line of emerald pieces called The Panna Collection in collaboration with Gemfields last year to promote ethical mining, believes that ethical gemstones are the only way ahead. Though they are still few and far between, customers do ask us about the source of rubies and emeralds, says Arora. Amrapalis line of emerald charity bracelets will soon go on sale in India, and the proceeds will go towards the welfare of Kagems mining community. A true connoisseur will always go for ethical luxury, Ian Harebolt, CEO of Gemfields,

POP THE

QUESTION
THE MILKY WAY
Ive found my perfect breakfast beverage. Yay! And it doesnt even leave me with a hangover. Its only 9 am. Isnt that too early to be drinking? Not this drink. This is healthy its a mix of milk and vodka made from whey. Have they run out of potatoes? Has the barley harvest failed? Why make vodka from milk? A Dorset farmer called Jason Barber had this bright idea. He decided to check out if his 250 cows could do what the yaks of Tuva, a Siberian town, can do deliver milk that can be turned into vodka. Turns out they could. So Barber pulled off the perfect mix for Roger Sterling of Mad Men, eh? He wouldnt need to spike his milk with vodka anymore. Black Cow Vodka doesn't have to wait for Sterlings approval, it is already a hit with A-listers. Daniel Craig and Liz Hurley are guzzling the stuff. So how exactly does one turn doodh ka doodh and pani ka vodka? Well, the milk is separated into curds used to make cheese and whey which is fermented into a beer using a special yeast. It took Barber three years to come up with a winning formula. Move over White Russian. I am going Black Cow too!

ila Kunis could possibly do for emeralds what Marilyn Monroe did for diamonds. In February, the vivacious star of Black Swan signed up as brand ambassador of Gemfields, the worlds leading producer of ethically mined gemstones. Its really a luxury to own jewellery and gemstones. If youre in a position to do so, youre fortunate. Given that, I think its important to pay attention to what youre wearing and where it came from, says Kunis, who signed on after a five-day visit to Gemfields Kagem mine in Zambia, where she was impressed by how the stones were mined and local mining community treated by the owners. Kunis is among a growing number of Hollywood celebrities like Angelina Jolie, Leonardo DiCaprio and Natalie Portman who are supporters of conflict-free

Rarer than diamonds

Youve just announced partnerships with jewellery brands and designers in India. Why now? We want to popularise gemstones in India which are experiencing an all-time high demand. Over the last four years, the market for gemstones has grown at 50 per cent each year. We sell 60 per cent of our stones to the East and of that, 60 per cent to India. Ninety-five per cent of what we sell comes to Jaipur for cutting and polishing. Interestingly, Kagem mine, from where we source emeralds, was earlier owned by an Indian called Rajiv Gupta. Youve said that luxury is no longer deter-

Gemfields CEO Ian Harebottle wants to make coloured stones fashionable again
In addition to these attributes, ethics now delineate luxury. The Zambian president recently said that he intends to ban the auction of Zambian emeralds outside the country. How will this impact your business? There isnt clarity on the matter yet. Gemfields and the government has been involved in talks about the Kagem mine, and then suddenly at a press conference the minister of mines said that such a ban might be implemented. It wont affect us much as we are one of the players. We dont mind the ban as long as it is in the best interest of the country.

mined by the rarity of the object. The concept of luxury is constantly changing. Today, watches made of stainless steel and plastic handbags also fall in the category of luxury. But, in my opinion, a true luxury item is defined by its quality, the passion put into its making, its uniqueness and rarity. For example, gemstones were formed inside the earths crust much before diamonds, and no two gemstones are the same. This makes gemstones rarer than diamonds.

says. How the product has been sourced and processed is important. Many jewellery buyers today are concerned that their ethical standards are met the stones should not fund wars, their extraction should not harm the environment and the communities working in the mines should not be exploited. Over the years, the global jewellery industry has begun addressing these concerns. However, unlike diamonds, which come with certification of being mined ethically, theres no such system in place for coloured gemstones. Eighty per cent of coloured stones are mined from small-scale mines, which make them highly susceptible to unfair trade practices. For instance, money made from selling rubies and jade from Burmese mines was used to fund the erstwhile military rule in the country, until the US government embargo in 2008 put a stop to that. Under these circumstances, ethical practices set by a handful of companies like Gemfields, Leber Jeweler Inc. and Brilliant Earth, set the benchmark for fair trade practices in mining of gemstones. Gemfields, which produces 20 per cent of worlds emeralds and has a 75 per cent stake in Kagem mine in Zambia, mines emeralds and amethyst from Kagem and is known for its use of cutting-edge mining technology and adoption of zero carbon initiative, in addition to providing healthcare and education infrastructure for the local mining community. Brilliant Earth sources sapphires from mines in Sri Lanka by empowering small groups of local miners that share the costs, labour and profit from the sale of each gemstone found, while Leber Jeweler Inc. worked on the legislation to ban import of Burmese rubies to the US. In India, the jewellery trade is still largely unorganised and run mostly by small independent families, so most jewellers dont bother to check the origin of stones. The emphasis here is always on cartage and cheap labour, says Bina Goenka. Karigars are paid a measly Rs 3,000 a month with no additional medical benefits or provident fund, says Goenka, who feels that designers need to create better working conditions for craftsmen by investing in their education, health and retirement benefits. Today, some of the more responsible Indian designers are paying their karigars Rs 30,000 to Rs 40,000 a month so that they continue to create works of art and the next generation does not give up the trade.