In a consumer-driven society, fashion and sexual health are closer than you think. Both are crucial to the experience of being a woman. And the experience of being a woman drives various screws in a demand and supply chain. They often influence each other, but the reason you don’t make the connect is because unfortunately, you’re conditioned not to.
Many young fashion enthusiasts look up to Imran Amed, the founder of a magazine titled The Business Of Fashion (BoF). They’re also painfully aware that India’s gotten away with producing a cringe-worthy plagiarised version of the same, and are clueless how Diet Sabya hasn’t addressed this as yet.
When BoF announced that they were hosting a podcast with Karla Bookman, founder of The Swaddle, and Sonam Kapoor Ahuja, India’s most recognised fashionista (a term that can be contested on the most simple of grounds, yet seems to be one of the country’s most marketable post-truth views), it appeared to break new ground for representation, but alas.
The podcast is a revealing one. On one hand, it brings to light the truly amazing work that The Swaddle is undertaking, specifically tapping into India’s innate ability to crowd-source – a quality that has existed for millennia, but has never been used to the best of its potential. On the other hand, it rings heavy with privilege, for Kapoor Ahuja’s position as a self-proclaimed ambassador of the Hindi film industry’s skewed gender equations sounds nothing but put on and woefully ill-researched.
The reason why that is problematic is two-fold. Firstly, this happened through the platform that The Business Of Fashion provided. As a consumer of fashion, it was disappointing to see that the standard the magazine has set for itself, in terms of dissemination of information about fashion, would move from someone as impactful as Kalpona Akter to someone like Sonam Kapoor Ahuja.
In a line of podcasts that include names like Maria Grazia Chiuri to Ian Rogers, it is truly baffling how Kapoor Ahuja was even considered. Especially given the fact that a contract with L’oreal is not synonymous with being India’s most loved, the same way in which wearing the third-most accessible runway look at a red carpet is not synonymous with being fashion aware.
Secondly, Kapoor Ahuja says several things that are outright ridiculous. “Sujata” and “Bandini” may have been gender sensitive movies, but toxic masculinity in Bollywood existed right next to these classics. It certainly didn’t start in the ‘80s, like she suggests.
She also addressed the #MeToo movement in the industry, talking about victim shaming, but here’s a gentle reminder that she defended a senior film director accused of sexual harassment less than two weeks ago.
As far as LGBTQ+ issues are concerned, there’s actually very little that the entire Hindi film industry has ever taken a stand on. It is apparent that this may just be promotion for Kapoor Ahuja’s new movie, which has a character from the LGBT community in the lead. How disappointing that what could have been an exciting confluence of fashion, gender and sexual health became just another Bollywood movie promotion event.
What’s saddening is, there isn’t going to be a tweetstorm about this, despite the fact that this is such a travesty. This could have been a life-changing podcast.
Bookman addressed the fact that feminism has been alive in India for a long time, and that despite a clear lack in efficiency and accessibility, things are changing, and young people are spearheading that change.
There simply could have been better research on Kapoor Ahuja’s part. At a time when the country is being led by a government that has zero accountability for its claims, it was disarming to see yet another influential figure take position on a global stage, but say false things with no sense of responsibility, or history, or a future direction, for that matter.
There’s plenty acute and accurate fashion awareness in Indian society. Many of us pine for our very own Harajuku, but contrary to popular belief, don’t look to Bombay for inspiration.
Regardless of what people say, fashion is empowerment. The same way the right to sexual health is. While it’s important to get experts to talk about it, it’s equally important to remember who you’re reaching out to. If left up to the kids who actually know what they’re talking about, you’d be surprised: they sift the authentic from the unauthentic with ease.
Featured image source: Wikimedia Commons.
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