Posts Tagged ‘India’
who gets to talk about cultural identity | an excerpt from Supriya Lele S/S 21 Panel Discussion
March 13, 2022Diversity of Indian Faces
January 18, 2022Ajay & Kishanchand | Himachal Pradesh
May 30, 2021

Sheep herders in Himachal Pradesh, photographed near Snow Line in Dauladhar mountains.
Meher Varma | delhi fashion week
March 30, 2021
Meher Varma. Anthropologist/Fashion writer.
What do you do and where did you grow up?
I’m a graduate student and an anthropologist in the making. I grew up in lots of different places — Dhaka, Hong Kong, Beijing, LA, NY, Kodai, DC.
What’s the best thing about constantly moving?
It opens your mind. You are constantly re-introduced to new people and you have to reinvent yourself all the time. Things are temporary, there is a sense of influx, it prepares you for the world.
I am going to ask you a question that I am asked often: What do you think about Indian fashion?
When someone asks me this question I always ask them what do they mean by it and I twist it to ‘What do you think about fashion in India?’ Indian fashion as Indian fashion is very restrictive and we should see it as fashion in India.
I think fashion in India is a lens to see what’s happening in the country on a larger level. Without talking about all of the other things like class, modernity, economy, social/political issues we can not talk about fashion in India. When we say where is fashion in India going we are actually asking where India is going.
How did you get interested in writing about fashion?
I sensed a serious lack of analytical writing about clothes, designers, and the industry. I think clothes are never just clothes, they’re always elucidating something else. So with a background in anthropology, which gives me the tools for deep analysis, I thought fashion was a perfect subject to start asking some very tough questions and writing about them.
I’m interested in writing about fashion only as long as it elucidates something else about the world. My phD dissertation in anthropology is an example of this. I’m looking at the cultural industry of New Delhi based fashion designers as a lens to look into large issues like changing ideas of gender and class.
Do you have a favourite film?
I have watched Almost Famous 86 times. I liked the theme — crisis of fame, and the soundtrack.
Photographed at fashion week in Delhi. 2013
after-party | delhi fashion week
March 12, 2021sikkim countryside
March 11, 2021troyee & rodali | ELLE India
February 27, 2021Preeti Dhata | delhi fashion week
February 25, 2021woman carrying balloons | ladakh
February 22, 2021Kuvelu & Mercy | delhi fashion week
February 21, 2021woman in dharamkot | himachal pradesh
February 17, 2021ladakh countryside
February 17, 2021man drinking tea | Jodhpur
February 16, 2021Lily Tekseng for ELLE India
February 15, 2021— Lily Tekseng, MPhil scholar from Yingkiong, Arunachal Pradesh / photographed in Delhi for ELLE India, Soul Sisters
Young tailors | bombay
February 15, 2021Priya Kishore | art of the trench
February 14, 2021Kaka for Bhaane
February 13, 2021woman at a shop | Mumbai
February 11, 2021ruchika sachdeva | delhi fashion week
February 11, 2021tania fadte | bombay
February 10, 2021TJ Bhanu | bombay
February 10, 2021Chingngamla | fashion week
February 9, 2021Chingngamla from Manipur at fashion week in Bombay.
Radhika for Abraham & Thakore
February 8, 2021Preeti Dhata | Bombay
February 7, 2021Virken for Anuj Bhutani | Bombay
February 6, 2021Jacinta & Anna in Sunday Best | Aizawl
February 5, 2021Melissa x Lune
February 5, 2021street style at delhi fashion week
October 14, 2020Pi Lawmi | Aizawl
October 14, 2020Lodoe & Lobsang | mcleodganj
October 7, 2020Lodoe & Lobsang on Losar in Mcleodganj.