Neither East Nor West

Two days ago I went to a beautiful exhibition at the Asian Civilization Museum called "Neither East Nor West." It was a beautiful B&W photographic exhibition of portraits of Asian dignitaries, diplomats and socialites taken at the turn of the 20th century. Some were taken in London when Asians were visiting the city. While others were taken in one of Singapore's oldest studios - the GR Lambert & Co which shut down in 1919. The photos together with the accompanying text talked about Asians who embraced western fashion and sensibilities while retaining their ethnic identity. One of the more interesting portraits was a picture of an Indian general who had three distinct uniforms depending on the occasion - one for Indian events, one in his military costume and another in a Western suit and hat. This showed the ease in which Asians moved between the different world and how they adorned different "costumes" to facilitate their entry and acceptance into the different communities within which they operated. What I loved about the exhibition was that it did not seek to polarize identities into either East OR West. Instead it recognized that we all borrow ideas, sensibilities and fashion from other cultures and evolve our personalities and identities freely without allowing labels like East or West to constrain us. How liberating !!!

Shobana Pushing Classical Boundaries

My guru KJ Sarasa has a string of award winning artists as her former students. In fact KJ Sarasa is known as the guru to the stars. Shobaba was one of her students. Sarasa often admired Shobana's intelligence and ability to push classical boundaries and take risks. This is what I admire about Sararsa. She is not afraid of intelligent experiments designed to make bharatanatyam more reflective of contemporary culture and fashion. This little video clip demonstrates Shobana's elegant costuming and black which is often considered an inauspicious color looks radiant on Shobana.

Hussein Chalayan - Artist vs Artisan

Last night I read a great interview by FT on Hussain Chalayan. Hussain Chalayan is a brilliant and inspiring fashion designer. However he has not met with the level commercial success comensurate with his talent. His clothes are not as saleable as some of his less brilliant but more commercially successful peers. This is a hard place to be. A pure artist who takes risks and creates intellectually and technologically inspired clothes and pushes the frontiers - but yet struggles to achieve mainstream success. As Hussain himself said in the interview - I don't want people to come to my show for inspiration. I want them to BUY !!!! Oh what a pity !!! Maybe the key is not to stop being inspiring and inspired - but to find a way to bottle and sell that inspiration. Maybe that is exactly what the world needs in these gloomy times - not more products but more passion !!! Hussain starting thinking along the lines of Motivational Gurus and hitting the speaking circuit. That could be a real lucrative parallel career.

The inability to fit a creative genius within a corporate production cycle and quarterly revenue numbers has often made fashion stocks unpredictable and unsuitable for public listings. But designers just like all artists often want commercial success - not just praise and lavish museum sponsored exhibitions about their work. How does one strike the balance - keeping the fun of doing what you love within the discipline imposed by a corporate model which really was not designed to accommodate niche talents?

Inspiration, Fashion & Boredom

A very refreshing talk by Isaac Mizrahi on what interests him and how that feeds his inspiration. And ultimately translates into his work. Unlike alot of people he does not try to be intellectual and do research for his work. He says he does his own type of research. He studies movies, people in the street and color as all this he says motivates him and therefore inspires his ideas. He says that he is also motivated by astrologers and tarot card readers and often follows their advice/clues into his life.

He also talks about how he combats boredom by not committing to just one craft or discipline. This he implies is deeply liberating and good for the soul. And maybe a way to inspire oneself by constantly looking at new things and looking at life in new ways.

Snake & Peacock Dance - Carnival on Beach

Found another old photo which brought back a flood of beautiful memories. Also reminded me of what a versatile performance repertoire I had accumulated in the early years of my dance life. This photo was taken during my teens - not sure when. I am the upside down gal - pretending to be a super-flexible snake. It was a story about a battle between the beautiful peacock and the super agile snake. The dance ends with the snake being killed by the three peacocks. Well, clearly I was outnumbered there !!

But it was also a wonderful piece for me to do as my teacher had recognized my flexibility and she had created some very demanding choreography for me to do. One in particular I remember had required me to spin on my knees in a circle. This challenged me in terms of extending my movement vocabulary. It also ensured that I did not get too hung up with the classical training. Many classical dancers who are not exposed to other dance forms subsequently find it very difficult to pick up other styles.

The costume I also felt was super hip. Just a blue track suit with some Indian accessories to connect it back to the indian art form. But rather realistic in terms of the peacock feathers and the form fitting catsuit. I remember painting the scales on the blue track suit before the show. Fun, fun, fun.

My Creative Elders

My mom used to be the wardrobe mistress for my cousin Sarojini Devi. My mom and Devi had a very close bond fostered by their love for dance and music and of course fashion. This photo taken on 13 August 1967 displays their style sensibilities. They wear coordinated hip chains, pearl necklaces and very similar saris with hand embroidery. This is one of my mom's favorite pictures too. When I was a little four year old my mom often spoke of her experience helping and coaching Devi and standing at the wings to help with costumes changes etc. My mom knew all the various types of dances Devi did -ranging from classical to folk and the different costumes that went with it. She described a beautiful and glamorous world to me and encouraged me to become a great artist. Devi who I am still very close to helped me throughout my 30 year dance career. She was and continues to be a source of great knowledge and spiritual insights and is able to always answer some of the more nuanced questions I have. Thank you ladies for such wonderful inspiration and guidance. I hope to pass it along to the next generation and I have already started doing that by teaching Indian dance to my 5 year old and 3 year old nephews.

Dance Costumes 101

There are only two really reliable tailors in Chennai - Ayaloor who is the costumer for the stars and Shanti tailors. Be prepared to wait at least one month from the time you give your sari for the first fitting. Making costumes has become a lucrative business as more now there are many dance schools all over the world. Also don't try to do anything funky with the dance costumes to suit your preferences. Chennail tailors are notorious for zero fashion sensibility and design value-add. Most of them are technicians. They are excellent at copying but will make a mess if you tried to alter one or two details. So do a basic costume and come back to your own country and find a seamstress and tweak it to suit your style.