fashion friday (pink rickshaw)

Believe in your inner Beyonce -Rachel Corcoran

For being the shortest month of the year, February is jam packed with a lot to get excited about (birthdays, Valentine's Day, Super Bowl Sunday). It is also a fashion-filled month. Fashion Week in New York starts next week, awards season is in full swing with red carpet fashion to ogle at and all the spring lines are hitting retail stores. So it only seemed fitting to be sure to feature a few fashion happenings weekly. Since most of the month will be focused on Western fashion with upcoming Fashion Week and the Oscars, I wanted to start off the series with some whimsical, fantasy fashion from India.

Fashion Flashback--Sabyasachi does shoes: India is gearing up for their own fashion weeks later in spring, so to get excited I was looking back at some of my favorite looks from last year. At the top of the list has to be the insane Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Christian Louboutin collaboration used for Sabyasachi's Autumn/Winter '15 Couture show. Eighty pairs were made for the "Bater" collection in August and Sabyasachi described the collaboration in interviews as “extremely Parisian footwear with an Indian baroque sensibility.” The line featured Christian Louboutin’s Devibroda and Victoria styles, with Sabyasachi’s "signature acid-dyed burned-sequin embroidery and tea-dyed cotton threads" on the heels. I'm personally feeling the tasseled pair. Unattainable eye candy in its sweetest form.

Fashion Now--Beyonce does Bollywood: Have you seen the Coldplay/Beyonce Hymn for the Weekend video? It casually dropped last weekend and quickly stirred up the cultural appropriation versus cultural appreciation debate. Honestly, I am on the fence on how I feel about it. It's so complicated, it makes my head hurt. The video is no doubt stunning visually and seems earnest about capturing the beauty and spirit of India. But, does it play up to stereotypes? (aka fire breathing, Holi playing street children..is it always Holi in India in music videos? I'm confused. And my personal favorite, the levitating swami) Yes, it does. So, I definitely do not want to make light of the debate since it is a serious topic but I did want to briefly move away from the heavy stuff to remark on the incredible fashion in the video. Beyonce stuns in her Indian designer gear. (Note: Her looks in the video are also a significant part of the controversy but there is no denying how amazing she looks. I don't care where you stand on the issue. Bow down to Queen Rani B and the team that created her gorgeous look. It should also be noted that Beyonce was dressed by some of India's finest fashion designers which in my opinion, should be appreciated for being collaborative and inclusive.)
Beyonce is in a custom design from famed Indian designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla. In most of her scenes, she is wearing the duo's plunging gown embellished in gold sequins and crystals and is also wearing a gorgeous floor length cape over the dress. The coat/cape according to Khosla's Instagram is hand embroidered in Gota, beads and multicoloured resham and appliqué work. Bollywood starlet Sonam Kapoor also makes a brief cameo in the video and is seen wearing Indian designer Mayyur Girotra and jewelry from Amrapali and Apala by Sumit. Beyonce and Coldplay, of course, are performing in the half time show this Super Bowl Sunday and so it is very likely we will hear the song then. However, I'm pretty sure in light of the controversy, Bey's going to leave the face chain and heavy dupatta at home.

P.S. If you read the Taxi Fabric post last summer, you'll notice in the video that Chris Martin is actually riding around Mumbai in a Taxi Fabric cab featuring the work of artist Samya Arif. Congrats to the artist and the project for the major international exposure.

image source: Christian Louboutin, Elle India, stills from Hymn for the Weekend by Coldplay featuring Beyonce

-SD