Professor explores symbolism of Indian fashion

“I really think we cannot look at fashion as being divided from sociality. It is very much linked to the psychology of people. When you look at the dress of a certain period you can tell a lot about the people of that time. You can tell what the person’s economic status was or the status of a woman in society,” she said.

Bhandari, who was in Trinidad recently to deliver a lecture for the University of Trinidad and Tobago, explained that the superficial facets of fashion did not appeal to her, but the hidden sociological specifics of it did. “Initially, I wanted to study the scientific aspects of textile. But as I got into it, more of the fashion aspects and the traditional techniques of how textiles are made really started exciting me.”

Her impressive academic record includes some of the most prestigious fashion schools across the world including Delhi University, Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) in New Delhi, the National Institute of Design (NID) in Ahmedabad, the New York Fashion Institute of Technology and the London College of Fashion.

She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Fashion Design and a Master’s Degree in Textiles and Clothing.

Bhandari, whose family has roots in Rajasthan, chose it as the setting for her extensive field research and as the subject of her doctoral thesis. The academic paper which was entitled Women’s Costume in the Thar Desert was later published. She has since produced several journals, magazines articles and penned a number of books including Costumes, Textiles and Jewelry: Traditions in Rajasthan.

For the last 24 years, Bhandari has been teaching at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in India. There, she shares her knowledge of fashion design, costumes, draping, textiles and pattern making of knitting and weaving Indian fabrics.

But this wife and mother of two continues to research and document fashion in India as it relates to people’s lifestyles. Bhandari said that fashion can be culturally specific and, therefore, is inevitably linked to people’s values, beliefs and traditions:

“I think we need to study fashion in a local arena. So I cannot study fashion in India by observing what is happening is Paris, Milan, London and the US. It has to be what is happening in India. For example, if someone is wearing an outfit with a very deep neckline, then in India they might cover it up with a scarf whereas in Europe it would be fine as is.”

She explained that there was a time in India when everyone wore a sari or a dhoti every day, but today it is more common to see people wear western-style clothing.

However, Bhandari said that despite this, tradition is still deeply ingrained in the Indian people.

“I thinks it is very important to understand what influences people and what makes people appreciate a certain thing and then go into the depths of that. I feel very strongly that in India everyone is a traditionalist at heart. So they may wear modern clothes, but when it really comes down to it people are traditional. So at traditional event, such as a wedding, you will find that everyone is wearing traditional Indian clothing. That’s when the real thought processes of people is evident.”

According to Bhandari, the regional diversity of fashion in India tells the story of a rich culture saturated with heterogeneity. Every aspect of dress including the colour, pattern, fabric, embellishment, jewelry and makeup which is distinctive to an Indian state, region or village is reflective of the psyche of its people.

“I think you can tell a lot about someone by the way they dress. You can deduce the way they think, how they behave, the value they places on themselves, or at what stage of existence they are in their life.” One of the most important elements of Indian fashion, she said, is colour because of its symbolism: “Colour is definitely the most important thing, but when people live in larger, more cosmopolitan cities like New Delhi or Bombay it starts to lose its significance in some ways. But typically on ceremonial occasions such as when there is a marriage, death or festivals then the colour aspect again becomes very important.”

Bhandari explained the symbolic meaning of certain colours. Black is an unauspicious colour and is rarely worn during celebrations and ceremonies. White, is a very auspicious colour in Western cultures and symbolises innocence and purity, but in India it is regarded as the absence of colour, a state of being devoid of everything so it is usually worn at funerals. Red and pink represent life and energy and is the colour of choice for marriage, births or visiting a temple. Yellow is especially auspicious because it relates to the sun colours.

She explained that depending on which part of the country someone comes from, the community they belong to and their religion, cool colours like blues and greens have drastically different meanings.

In certain areas in Rajasthan, people will never wear indigo and blue because it is considered to be an unclean colour. This association came from the actual dyeing and processing method which is considered to be unhygienic. As it involves tinted water or a “dye bath” that is fermented. Bhandari added there are still many members of the upperclass in society who will never wear colours in this family.

The colours are also associated with the different seasons. Summer colours are softer pastels and winter colours are deeper, rich hues. Colours also take their cue from India’s festivals. During the festival of Teej which celebrates the arrival of the monsoons between June and July, people wear green. People usually wear combinations of pink and white during the festival of Holi (or Phagwa) which is a celebration of spring. During the festival of Vasant Panchami which honours the goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, people wear yellow garments.

In one of her books entitled Celebrating Dreams: Weddings in India, Bhandari described the transition of a woman’s fashion through the stages of her life like single, married and widowed. “The dress patterns change over the course of one’s life. For an unmarried girl, you are relatively free to wear what you want. Once married, they are expected to wear a more conservative form of clothing. So there is a certain degree of expectation and social pressure to dress in a particular manner. Widows will usually dress down. They will not wear much jewelry or bright colours. But this has also changed quite a bit.”

In terms of one’s status in the social structure, Bhandari explained that women of high status typically wear full, flowing clothes with ornamental beading and embroidery and heavy jewelry. This is because they were not required to do much physical work. The men will wear trailing dhotis and a turban with decorative tassels. Women of the lower classes who worked in the fields would wear shorter skirts and of lighter fabrics that were designed to allow them to work and not hinder their movement. The men who farm would wear a shorter, simple dhoti.

Bhandari said that the variations in dress is attributed to India’s vastness and varying climate: “I think the differences has a lot to do with where they are living. India is not a tiny country. So the climatic conditions are different, the seasons are different and the food is different. The colours also relate to where people are from and what kind of weather conditions prevail.”

But Bhandari said that the traditional form of dress does not restrict people’s wardrobe: “I think we have evolved. People do not see you as a colour, they see you as a person.”

She also noted that fashion is increasingly becoming more universal: “Nowadays, whether in the smallest Indian villages or urban towns, Western fashion and fashion from other Indian states have crept in.”

Indian fashion has exploded worldwide and Bhandari explained that this is largely due to the fact that Indians have a very strong identity and carry it with them wherever they migrate to.

“Indians have a very strong identity and especially Indians who have moved abroad, they preserve their culture in a box. Their clothes, cuisine, religion, music are their links to their culture. That is why you cannot simply study fashion in isolation.