Yes please. Thank you.’
Polite is pleasing. Pleasing is pretty. Pretty is nice. Nice is boring.

We do not always aim to please. We do not always dress to please. Angst expresses its mood through our attire. It gets darker, then darker still. And even when the gloom goes away, the addiction remains. Fashion’s fascination with the morbid, the sordid and the macabre remains an eternal lugubrious romance.

The melancholy and the sinister alter egos have fashioned many an haute revolution with their ominously enigmatic appeal. They began as a sign of protest or seclusion – whether individual, social or political – and soon acquired followers of their subversive cult appeal. In the postmodern times, between the late 1970s and early 1990s, chapters like punk, Goth and grunge jolted and intimidated mainstream, and ‘alternative’ became a fixture in global style. In recent history and contemporary design, almost every designer across the planet has included elements of these in their creations at some point. Goth, punk and grunge have blended within themselves in numerous cases and created the possibility of limitless permutations. They are no longer pure. They are tainted, and that is why they have evolved.

The inevitable blurring of definition always happens with ideas, concepts and movements as they grow and these are no exceptions. While the original ethos of non-conformation, non-elitism and voluntary self seclusion remain the core, the irony is manifold. Goth has shed brooding introversion and confidently hogged the limelight (Alexander McQueen, John Galliano, Gareth Pugh, Rick Owens and Yohji Yamamoto). Punk started on the streets as a revolt against elitist snobbery, using the cheapest components like bin liners and toilet chains; the same are now designer versions (Vivienne Westwood, Comme des Garçons, Rodarte) that cost an arm. Grunge started as anti-fashion, humble, unkempt and proud to be working class; it has since, glamorised to a high-maintenance avatar (Marc Jacobs for Perry Ellis first created designer grunge in 1993). All three credit the origins of their popularity to music and musical icons (Siouxsie Sioux for Goth, Ramones for punk, Kurt Cobain for grunge). There was an intense interaction between the two art forms – they offered not simply dress but a lifestyle. Now fashion and music are two separate entities, mutually respectful, but not umbilical.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. Evolution is about acquiring and shedding, about give and take. While Goth, punk and grunge originated in the West, they incorporated elements from multiple global cultures and also from historic costume. Goth is based on Victorian mourning attire, embodying suffering and sorrow with sexual undertones. Thus the predominance of black, the veil, the pallid countenance, the restrictive corsets. Punk’s radical, rebellious, ‘shock value’ lies in metal and body art – safety pins, chains, piercings and tattoos galore, which have very evident tribal and aboriginal roots. Grunge, with its unkempt sexiness, merged with hippy in the early 1990s; the latter has distinct influences from a host of colourful ethnicities. All three share a penchant for dark eyes – kohl, shadow, liner – an import from the East and the Middle East, just that seductive was notched up to intimidating. It was ‘fair’ trade.

The Euro-American dominance has, in the last two decades, witnessed a mushrooming and blooming of other global players, foremost on the list being the land of the rising sun. Interestingly, Japanese designers and youth have contributed to, and absorbed Goth, punk and grunge and created unique, pulsating street style cultures. Goth Loli, Ganguro, Cosplay and more are various branches, covering themes like the adult-child paradox, role plays, fetishes and comic (Manga) inspirations. Elsewhere also, the periphery has expanded, the tether has extended.

With more multi-racial, multi-ethnic faces in fashion (designers, celebrities, icons, animated characters, models), what were previously White anti-mainstream cultures, have now found yellow, brown and black-skinned ambassadors and followers.

REINCARNATION
Which brings us to India. Design here has somewhat apprehensively embraced ‘alternative’ and subversive sensibilities, but this is only a recent phenomenon. (“Alternative is often interpreted negatively,” designer Arjun Saluja says.) The ‘holy trinity’ (as designer Kallol Datta puts it) of Goth, punk and grunge can be seen in small, medium, large, derived and blended doses. Grunge has been ethnic (Anamika Khanna, Kiran Uttam Ghosh) or relaxed (Savio Jon, Small Shop Jason Anshu) or subversive (Vivek Kumar, Kallol Datta 1955). Goth has emerged in deconstructed (CellDSGN) or sombre-chic (Nitin Bal Chauhan, Siddartha Tytler) or Greek-inspired (Gaurav Gupta) avatars. Punk has been interpreted in futuristic (Lecoanet Hemant), oriental (Arjun Saluja), romantic (Varun Sardana), comic (Little Shilpa, Manish Arora), rock chic (Rocky S, Chaitanya Rao), military (Kunal Rawal) or ethnic-pop (Nida Mahmood) contexts. The Indian chapter has seeded late and slowly, but is now rooting despite rocky soil.

Predominantly traditional craft and textile based, Indian fashion has found it difficult to accept ‘non-prettiness’ as we are culturally conditioned to adhere to certain aesthetic parameters. But some unconventional creators have found their inspirations within the country. “Tribal dressing and some religious ceremonial attire are quite intimidating,” observes Saluja. “Subversive is part of our history and grassroots.” Siddhartha Tytler identifies tantrics as the Indian Goths, “clad in dark robes or chogas, with their ash smeared faces reminiscent of the ‘death powder’ of white faced Goths, and also, their actions against the general rules of the caste system”. Smita Singh Rathore and Shani Himanshu of CellDSGN speak of the vast diversity within the country. Rathore says, “There has never been a big, solid mass to conform to; there have always been many subcultures and sub-subcultures. So in a way, there are thousands of anti-conformist traditions; rather, it is tradition to be anti-conformist!”

But while tribal and religious groups offer cult-design inspiration, there is a big difference between the Western chapters and the desi one. Goth, punk and grunge are essentially urban subcultures, which have thrived on real streets, in real lifestyles, as on runways. The Indian subversive aesthetics stem from mostly rural settings, and their fashion counterparts cater to a niche, designer audience. “The cited movements are all references in very advanced and rich countries, the condition for a subculture to exist,” states Hemant Sagar of Lecoanet Hemant. “None of those styles would make sense other than fancy dress in India. Goths and punks are modern day (urban) tribes that connect through a strong opinion, which is contrary to Indian society.” Datta points out a common misconception, “Dressing vis-à-vis subcultures and dressing vis-à-vis native gear overlap majorly in the Indian context. People are unable to distinguish between the two.” So, have we never had an urban community? Datta provides an interesting take, “The quintessential left leaning, kurta wearing, jhola carrying, retro eye frame donning university student is the contemporary street culture.” (Sabyasachi took this to the runway.) There is a strong flavour of grunge there, and traces of subversive history from the pre-independence Gandhian khadi movement, which was a protest against the British.

But if a street or fashion culture blending Goth, punk and grunge could have an ethnic reincarnation, then the possibilities would be exciting. “Make-up like classical dancers, chunks of silver, sexy black salwars, an overdose of kajal, intricate hair,” lists Gaurav Gupta. “Antique India mixed with very modern construction and draping.” Rathore “would love to see a black phase in Indian clothing. Our version of Goth would embrace a certain ascetic, minimalist sensibility that too is very Indian”. She and Tytler pick the black sari as the Indo-Goth ambassador. Sagar feels that “Kathakali could be quite a style statement if it is evolved”. Datta’s opinion is that “when it comes to Goth, visually we would never get it right as it is about the contrast between pale skin and dark clothing…hence, ethno-grunge would be my recommendation”.

Saluja reminds that a subculture owes its success to ‘lifestyle value’. “The whole package – music, attitude, the total culture – it has to be breathed and felt. Here, even the alternative music scene is tiny. Bollywood dominates.” But in smatterings across urban centres, particularly in the North East, the Indi-rock circuit has bonded a handful to create a punk-grunge dress code, comprising T-shirts, distressed denims, wristbands, headbands, tattoos and piercings. This is almost a uniform, especially among young males but nothing is taken to the extreme. Outside this ‘Indie’ circle, the fashion fraternity is experimenting with alternate personal dressing (personal being the keyword). Most do not view this as a deliberate assertion of ‘in-your-face’ sensibilities to generally intimidate, but rather as an extension of their moods, personalities and multi-cultural exposures. “They (alternative dress styles) are brewing,” Gupta observes. “Without formal realisation, people in pockets have begun to have fun with their dressing. As these people meet and grow in number, a stronger mood and richer subculture will emerge.”

But ‘groupism’ today may not have the same values as the original frames. Now, it is certainly not just about wearing your ‘tainted’ heart on your ripped/slashed sleeve. A section of the current crop of designers, stylists, artists, journalists and buyers consider themselves to be global citizens. They are well travelled, having acquired education within and outside India (including centres where these subcultures continue to thrive), with multi-dimensional perspectives since they have observed the country from the inside as well as from the outside. This naturally reflects in their work. Across continents, music, cinema, dance and even food have merged genres. In a way, therefore, fashion is part of that lifestyle – living it, breathing it. But the focus is on creating a unique blend of elements, to propagate individuality, albeit with unconventional aesthetics. Rathore says, “It is more about individual expression of beliefs rather than fashion statements.” The endeavour to express oneself breaks away from the ‘community’ feel of subcultures. “I am waiting for people to be more individual and bold, rather than just looking at each other,” Gupta says.

If Goth marries tantra, punk has a kinky affair with Kathakali, or grunge goes Bengali leftist, the interbreeding will produce multi-strained offspring. But some eternal genes will be passed on. Non-conformation, distinctiveness and tolerance.

Unless of course, in future, political correctness forbids us to express anything at all. Or – going by observation – the Indian fashion industry continues to rapidly and repeatedly fragment and self-corrode into nothingness.

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