Fashion makes life beautiful. It allows people to look their best and feel good about themselves. And above all fashionable clothing covers our bodies in style! We always look up to stars and celebrities who set the trend with their fashion statements.
But some are emboldened to go a step further and design an apparel of daily wear that defies sense and invites the ridicule of everyone around. Yet, there are many who have flaunted these seemingly outlandish outfits, and with consummate ease at that.
Scenes of an over-enthused audience merrily cheering on models sashaying down the ramp in style showcasing themed collections of budding designers are generally associated with fashion shows.
But with due respect to the creative genius of the talented designers, I have often wondered if these getups could be sported as items of daily wear! As someone suggested, most of the clothes worn by fashion models on the ramp seem flashy and funny at the same time.
Yet, people like me need to be reminded that such assumptions are baseless and are an insult to the creative brilliance of designers who believe that fashion is an ever-evolving and incredibly powerful form of self-expression and creativity that permeates our daily lives. Designers often use their clothing to make a statement or to push boundaries.
Allow me to quote from a discussion in this context!
“Clothing worn by models on the runway is often intended to be bold and striking, rather than practical or comfortable. Additionally, many designers use their runway shows as a way to showcase their creativity and to stand out from their competitors. This can lead to clothing that is flashy and attention-seeking, but may not be considered ‘wearable’ by most people.”
As rightly said, fashion has been around for centuries. As a form of self-expression that has the power to convey culture, identity and even political beliefs, fashion brands endorse making correct lifestyle choices for the young and those conscious about their looks.
The Gandhi-caps and the use of Khadi by politicians in India for instance!
I liked the way a writer put it across thus: “Fashion is a form of art where individuals can use their bodies as a canvas, experimenting with different colours, textures and silhouettes.”
But why just clothes! Fashion can include makeup, hairstyles, jewellery and accessories. It is a big world of fashion out there.
I, however, don’t intend dwelling on the subject of fashions alone. What interests me more is the phrase ‘in vogue’.
If something is in vogue, it is said to be very popular and fashionable.
Our lives these days seem to be defined by what is ‘trending’ around us. And by trending I don’t mean topics currently popular and widely discussed online, especially on social media.
I specifically refer to practices that find a precedent sometime in the immediate past to set a trend that is agonizing.
At least fashions come and go, but some of these trends that I refer to defy all cycles and continue to rise and peak without showing any signs of decline and obsolescence.
Such a fad that readily comes to my mind is ‘drinking and driving’. Even after courting disasters ‘n’ number of times, the ‘craze’ has only evolved disastrously to encompass a proclivity shown by the errant drivers for playing with lives “ not only theirs but also of other commuters using the roads.
“Speed thrills but kills!” Yet, if a stint behind the wheels is to result in a surge of adrenalin for every driver, it is akin to a fondness for romancing with suicidal tendencies!
Both these ‘styles’ are trending now and trending with disastrous results!
Behavioural tendencies and approach to life in modern times is an offshoot of the influences that happenings around us exert on us.
The inclination to oppose any and everything proposed by the government which has been a prerogative of those not occupying the treasury benches has now percolated down to the masses as a right.
With enough shades of activism given to it, a congregation of agitated public hitting the streets no sooner an announcement is made vis-Ã -vis a developmental project in the state is a sight that has always invited a lot of interest amongst the locals.
But quite contrary to expectations, the policy or action of using vigorous campaigning to halt the proceedings hardly bear any fruit and at the most serves to bring about an interim truce between the government authorities and protesters over the matter.
While the productivity of these disagreements over the ‘controversial’ projects is debatable, what does leave a clear imprint in everyone’s mind is the active participation of the ‘disgruntled’ elements in stalling the project.
While the sincerity of a few committed individuals partaking in such campaigns is above reproach, it is the presence of hangers-on - rebels without a cause so to speak - who seem to draw mileage out of their very presence at the venue of these agitations that throws a big question mark over the proceedings.
This then is another ‘trending’ feature of the politics of protests where participation in such demonstrations, rather than the commitment to the cause, is very much in vogue.
Furthermore, with the kind of revolution that has characterized information technology in recent times, various types of social media have been giving ample opportunity to people to voice their ‘concerns’ and give vent to their fury sitting at home. One’s visible presence at ground-zero is no more the desired criterion.
Suffice to say that social media more often than not has turned into a veritable villain in such matters.
Either ‘forwarding’ messages or making one’s opinion viral on social media on any subject under the sun has apparently caught the fancy of the people “ a fashion so to say!
So it is just not clothes and other design-wears which set trends. In the current order of things, anything that appeals to one’s senses is a showstopper.
