Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Religion in fashion goes sober

Bureau Report - Zee News - Noida,India
Saturday, August 19, 2006

New Delhi, Aug 18: Religious imagery in fashion has undergone a sea-change. Earlier pictures of gods on T-shirts and kurtas was a norm, but with the changing times, people are wearing religion but a toned-down version of it.

Films like 'Passion of the Christ' and 'Da Vinci Code' have kicked a revival in this trend but the messages are being "played down while being imaginative," say designers.

"I am contemplating a collection on religious scriptures as it is a more subtle interpretation," says renowned designer Rina Dhaka who made kurtas with prints of gods and godesses in 2000 for the India Fashion Week

She says that the cross is her favourite symbol and her logo uses a variation of the crucification theme.

Interpretations of religion by designers are never cheap, it's only when they become street that the quality falls, she contends.

Sutanu of 'Planet Tree' says that they make t-shirts with couplets and passages from Kabir, Sufi Saints, Tulsidas and Bulle Shah coupled with imagery to enhance the image.

According to Dhaka, religious symbolism fascinate designers because these motifs contribute to "fashion humour. The mystic and the mystique are intriguing."

Budding fashion designer Nitin Bal Chauhan is also drawing richly from Christianity and using it as a central theme of his works - garments, paintings and even a film.

"For me Jesus Christ is symbolic of passion, a movement forward and a revolution," says, a trained fashion designer and artist.

While interpreting religious symbols on garment research is imperative. You can't put images on flimsy fabric or use them in a way that is insulting. " For instance for the Nehang collection, you can't use the Khanda anywhere but on the turban."

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Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Religion in fashion goes sober
Bureau Report - Zee News - Noida,India
Saturday, August 19, 2006

New Delhi, Aug 18: Religious imagery in fashion has undergone a sea-change. Earlier pictures of gods on T-shirts and kurtas was a norm, but with the changing times, people are wearing religion but a toned-down version of it.

Films like 'Passion of the Christ' and 'Da Vinci Code' have kicked a revival in this trend but the messages are being "played down while being imaginative," say designers.

"I am contemplating a collection on religious scriptures as it is a more subtle interpretation," says renowned designer Rina Dhaka who made kurtas with prints of gods and godesses in 2000 for the India Fashion Week

She says that the cross is her favourite symbol and her logo uses a variation of the crucification theme.

Interpretations of religion by designers are never cheap, it's only when they become street that the quality falls, she contends.

Sutanu of 'Planet Tree' says that they make t-shirts with couplets and passages from Kabir, Sufi Saints, Tulsidas and Bulle Shah coupled with imagery to enhance the image.

According to Dhaka, religious symbolism fascinate designers because these motifs contribute to "fashion humour. The mystic and the mystique are intriguing."

Budding fashion designer Nitin Bal Chauhan is also drawing richly from Christianity and using it as a central theme of his works - garments, paintings and even a film.

"For me Jesus Christ is symbolic of passion, a movement forward and a revolution," says, a trained fashion designer and artist.

While interpreting religious symbols on garment research is imperative. You can't put images on flimsy fabric or use them in a way that is insulting. " For instance for the Nehang collection, you can't use the Khanda anywhere but on the turban."

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