"People have realised the whole point of Indian fashionis its Indian-ness," said fashion journalist Sujata Assomull-Sippy. "Afew years ago it looked like stuff that came out of Bangkok, or copies of whatwe'd seen in Paris and Milan."
Top designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee is reported to make 45percent of his 11 million dollar turnover from the sari, the much-loved drapeconsidered formal and flattering, modest and sexy.
For designers, providing a practical and affordable edge hasbecome crucial as they shift their focus from the moneyed socialite to themiddle-class young woman with her eye on global trends.
At Lakme Fashion Week, which closes on Tuesday, SidhartaAryan took ethnic Indian garments -- the sari, the lehenga, the choli blouse --but created them from digitally printed silk, rather than reams of embroidery.
"We should try to reinvent it," he said, pointingto the competition from international chains that now operate in India,such as Zara and Mango.
At the fashion week, such trends were epitomised by RichaAggarwal, 29, who turned to the chaos of the nation's streets to inspire herdebut collection in Mumbai, pulling off the cliched "east meets west"fusion and drawing praise for originality.
With funky jackets combining denim and rice sacks, andpeasant blouses lined with block-printed fabrics, she said she had in mind"someone who travels globally, who has a pride in wearing the country theycome from".
