Influence of African tribal fashion on the main stream fashion

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African tribal fashion, African tribes, apparels, Burundi tribe, colors, Donna Karen, fabric, fashion blog, fashion history, freelance fashion designer, garments, Indian Tribes, Masai tribe, Stell Jean, Teke tribe, trends, Venda tribe, Wadaabe tribe, Zulu tribe

Africa is one of those places that are still well known for their various tribes that are present in the continent. Just like India, Africa has also become an inspiration for designers to come up with new designs, styles and prints that symbolize these tribes.

According to history, the early African clothing was pieced together from art, oral histories and traditions that are still practiced by the present day tribal members. Men usually didn’t wear any clothing and instead chose to decorate their bodies with paints or scars. When they did wear, it mostly consisted of animal skins and bark clothes.

(Photo Credits: http://goo.gl/P1lGgU , http://goo.gl/P2GG7G , http://goo.gl/K919QM , http://goo.gl/BT5oIe)

Women on the other hand, are dressed according to their marital status. Women wear clothes made out of beads if they were unmarried to reveal their status, while the married women cover themselves completely.

(Photo Credits:http://goo.gl/7BIfY1 , http://goo.gl/xodmbh , http://goo.gl/bu9vuB )

The animal skin and bark cloth was worn in different way by every tribe. While some draped it, others stitched it on the sides. After the weaving techniques were developed, Raffin, the fiber of a palm plant, and cotton became the most commonly used materials.

There are various designers who have used the African tribes as their inspiration for various collections. Stella Jean being one of them has many collections that have been based on the tribal theme, each collection with their own unique silhouettes and drapes that describe the eccentric designer perfectly.

(Photo Credits: Stella Jean 2013- http://goo.gl/rlpqTD )

Donna Karen presented her interpretation of the tribal print with clean cut beige and black tones that depict the subtle side of tribal prints used in Africa, while Mara Hoffman and Jenny Kee present their style in an explosion of colors combined with minimalist and extravagant usage of accessories respectively.

(Photo Credits: http://goo.gl/SU935v , http://goo.gl/rfNIrP, http://goo.gl/5wPlIu)

To find inspiration, designers have been exploring the ends of the Earth and beyond. They keep exploring continents to discover new cultures and traditions that were unknown off previously, to provide us with something new and exciting every fashion season.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion, the first virtual design studio that caters to new and upcoming fashion design labels with a diverse portfolio of design services. She is a member of the Cherie Blair Foundation’s Women Entrepreneurship Program and has over a decade of fashion industry experience with international labels and start-ups.

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Top 5 Halloween inspired fashion outfits

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apparels, blog, fashion blog, fashion designers, fashion history, freelance fashion designer, garments, Halloween, Jean Paul Gaultier, Lady Gaga

Fashion and Halloween have been inspiring each other for decades, and every time the result is exquisite. Halloween brings the designers a new inspiration and makes them explore their Gothic side.

Here are our picks for the Halloween inspired fashion outfits:

Lady GaGa :

(Photo Credits: http://goo.gl/7bCjEN )

The lady with the crazy sense of style made a statement with Lady GaGa’s meat dress, in the MTV Video Music Awards by wearing a dress and shoes made entirely of meat. There were many interpretations as to the significance of the dress, the most popular being, Lady Gaga not being a piece of meat.

Tim Burton:

(Photo Credits: http://goo.gl/jQsHhR )

Tim Burton’s Magical Fashion shoot has the perfect combination of Halloween and his magical imagination. The shoot comprised of various designers and brands that produced inspiring designs on the theme that gave us a peep to the wild interpretations that can be constructed.

John Galliano :

(Photo Credits: http://goo.gl/NRfxyF )

In the fall of 2009, John Galliano found inspiration for his Ready-to-wear collection in the witches of the past. The make-up may say Witches of the past, but the attire is truly a Galliano interpretation that makes us look at the design in admiration.

Alexander McQueen :

(Photo Credits: http://goo.gl/dRnNiv )

Halloween is empty without Alexander McQueen being a part of it. The designer is known was his elaborate and unconventional designs that inspire others to follow and research his style. The outfit describes the feel of Halloween and Goth in a “bloody” way that can only be done by McQueen.

Jean Paul Gaultier :

(Photo Credits: http://goo.gl/iaz8nG )

Jean Paul Gaultier in the spring of 2009 presented his outfit of the Halloween Goth bride on the ramp. Nothing represents the Gothic culture and Halloween like the colour black and with that the Goths’s unconventional philosophy of wearing a black bridal dress on their wedding day.

There are many more outfits that resemble the spirit of Halloween and all its aspects in ways that sometimes seems unimaginable to the mind, but the designers keep on exciting us with their eccentric ways.

Origins of Fashion: Tie-Dye

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apparels, fabric, fashion blog, fashion designers, fashion history, fashion illustrations, freelance fashion designer, garments, Indian fashion, Japanese Shibori, Thailand Mudmee, Tie dye

Tie-dye is a technique in which a garment is tied, folded or knotted in different ways and then dipped in organic or factory dyes to create patterns in the dyed fabric. While many associate the advent of tie-dye to the liberal culture of the hippies in the 60s, the process of tie-dye has been around for over a thousand years, with the first known instances of tie-dye garments dating to the 6th century in India, Japan and Africa.

Indian Bandhini (Courtesy: Indiamart)

Japanese Shibori (Courtesy: Akemi Nakano Kohn) designs

Dyeing as a technique was known to prehistoric man, who used various plant extracts from leaves, bark, flowers, fruits and roots to colour garments. Folding, forming and knotting gave the dye a pattern based on the extent to which the dye penetrated. This created designs which were attractive. In India, one of the oldest form of tie-dye – known as Bandhini – is still found flourishing today. This involves tying the fabric with small knots to created dotted patterns on the cloth. Asian tie-dye techniques such as Shibori and Batik are also popular. The Chinese used tie-dye for garments from the 6th century, and called it “zha ran” or “jiao xie”. These were worn only by priests and nobility, signifying the value and importance given to this technique of garment production. The Japanese used tie dye as far back as 552 AD, and developed the Shibori style, in which certain areas were restricted from reaching the dye, through and intricate pattern of stitching, tying and folding using sticks, rocks, threads and rubber bands. They also used sumi dye to paint certain designs and patterns which became darker after dyeing as compared to the surrounding areas.

Examples of African tie-dye (courtesy: Tictoc)

Mudmee (Courtesy: Mexicali Blues) designs

Africa and places like Peru have also shown historical traces of tie-dyed fabric. In Africa, the Yoruba women of West Nigeria use indigo (a natural plant extract) to dye cloth in various hues, creating patterns of blue shades on the cloth, due to stitching and folding techniques. Ikat, originating in Asia, involves tie-dyeing the yarn of the warp or weft before weaving. Another popular technique known as Mudmee originates from Thailand and the Indochina region, and involves a slightly different style with more subdued colours, generally on a black background as compared to white for most of the other types.

Hippie tie-dye designs (Courtesy: Wheretoget.it)

Hippie tie-dye designs (Courtesy: Wheretoget.it)

Tie-dye became popular in the modern era through the hippie movement of the 60s, which popularised the making of home-made designs and patterns using psychedelic colours. It became synonymous with the liberal culture and freedom of expression, with artist like Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin making it popular among the youth of that generation.

Tie-dye designs from House of Holland (Courtesy: Whowhatwear.com)

Tie-dye designs from Tory Burch (Courtesy: Whowhatwear.com)

Tie-dye designs from Miu Miu (Courtesy: Whowhatwear.com)

Modern tie-dye is mass-produced and largely consists of tie-dye prints, since original tie-dye is difficult to consistently replicate. Designers such as Miu Miu, House of Holland and Tory Burch have made modern tie-dye designs popular among the premium set, reviving a style that has seen a drop in popularity over the last few decades. In spite of the acceptance of tie-dye even among premium fashion designers, it still remains the commoner’s ultimate expression of fashion freedom.

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Supriya Ghurye is the founder and owner of Fuel4Fashion, the first virtual design studio that caters to new and upcoming fashion design labels with a diverse portfolio of design services. She is a member of the Cherie Blair Foundation’s Women Entrepreneurship Program and has over a decade of fashion industry experience with international labels and start-ups.

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Indian fashion Industry: Part 3

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apparels, blog, colors, creative, fabric, fashion, fashion blog, fashion illustrations, fashion world, freelance fashion designer, handloom fabric, Indian designers, Indian fashion, Indian Fashion Industry, pattern, prints, surface embroideries, tech pack, traditional prints, trends

In the previous posts, Part 1 & Part 2,  we talked about the development of Indian fashion world, in this last and final post of the series we will let you all know how the fashion industry of India evolved internationally. The ethnic appeal of the Indian traditional prints are alluring customers from all over the globe. To include the wider audiences designers are putting in a lot of effort.

Grace at its best!
Image courtesy:http://goo.gl/WkCtNv

The use of style and embroidery is very smart in the above charming attire.  To join two globally separated audiences, designers have to look for inspiration. The traditional prints are added to create pleasing effects on variety of dresses.

Old prints used modernly
Image Courtesy:http://goo.gl/IkV1Gf

The traditional work of laces and zari can do wonders. The different types of embroideries in India also change the face of any sober costume.  India practically is a warehouse of patterns and design which give immense opportunity to its designers to experiment.

Beautiful embroiders to revolutionize fashion
Image Courtesy: http://goo.gl/mbjex7

With the increasing trend of use of brighter colors in designs, Indian designers are trying to be more functional and bring in more folk and native embroideries together. The fabrics have also diversified giving more way to the Indian hand loom industry to grow. Handmade fabrics like wool and silk have a very charming appeal on the dresses. The unique thing about Indian fashion industry is that we don’t have to limit our self to use light shades of colors.  The traditional prints in India are usually bright-colored as they prefer to create a bold statement, boldly. For that reason designers have their palate full of colors.

Beautiful zarodozi work on the border
Image courtesy:http://goo.gl/DhgQjA

Indian fashion industry has come a long way from being a demand manufacturing unit. New designers are setting the ramp on fire with their dazzling works. The audiences also love to experiment with the creative collections.  From my previous blogs, Part 1 &  Part 2, one can say that the Indian fashion world  have changed totally upside down but at its core it remains the same as earlier, being bold boldly.

Do you admire any famous Indian personalities for their sense of fashion? Let me know in the comments section.

Indian fashion industry – Part 2

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apparels, block print, colors, fabric, fashion, fashion blog, fashion history, fashion illustrations, Indian fashion, Indian Fashion Industry, Lakme fashion week, Manish Malhotra, natural fabrics, paisley print, Ritu Berry, Ritu Kumar, Sabyasachi Mukherji, Tie dye, weavers

Indian fashion industry owes a lot to the ethnic culture of the country. Hope you must have read about it in the previous blog of this series – Part 1. In the year 2000 Lakme and IMG joined hands to provide a platform to the designers to show their talent to the world. Designers are adding creativity to Silhouette – ethnic and traditional garments to give their customers fresh quality.

Suneet Verma collection 2005
Image courtesy:http://goo.gl/LFcrMi

Collection by Sabyasachi Mukherji. Image courtesy : http://www.sabyasachi.com/

Fashion soon became a coveted trade and big fashion houses like Ritu Kumar, Ritu Beri and Manish Malhotra came into being. Fashion industry started celebrating colors, fabrics and formal ethnic accessories and soon Indian fashion gained western interest. Indian fashion industry is also known for its experiments with different types of natural fabrics. These different types of natural fabrics and prints which took over became the hot center of ‘fresh’ variety of fashion. Designers then started digging inside the country for more and more traditional prints and because of which hand looms also started getting importance. Also these designs provided a diversity to its customers.

Manish Malhotra 2012 show
Image courtesy: http://goo.gl/0so8bi

Masaba at LFW 2011. Image courtesy: http://www.houseofmasaba.in/‎

Traditional prints are used big time to add more elements to the fashion industry. Folk prints like the Mandana painting of Rajasthan added variety to the fashion.

Paisley Prints
Image courtesy: http://goo.gl/CaSVtN

Mandana Prints of Rajasthan
Image courtesy:http://goo.gl/TclO6A

Pattern is being carved out of teak to which vegetable dyes are applied during the block printing process.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/8B8wHN

The rich use of colors and prints fearlessly has differentiated Indian fashion from the rest of the world. Designers have boldly shed the so-called ‘image’ factor they had in the 90’s which restricted them from experimenting.

What do you think is the best element of this industry? Is it the variety that we have or the way we club our modern instincts with the older times or is it something else? Do tell me in the comments section. Also stay tuned for the next and final part on Indian fashion industry.

Indian fashion industry – Part 1

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apparels, fashion blog, fashion designers, fashion industry, freelance fashion designer, India, pattern, Product design, product development, Ritu Kumar, surface embroideries, tech pack

India has always been the paradise for fabrics and woven cloths. Even the primitive Indus valley civilization in the 5^th millennium knew how to spun, woven fabrics. But with the awakening of fashion sense, the industry began as an exclusives enterprise of independent designers. In this era there have been modifications to the printing techniques and designers started including traditional prints like block printing and tie dye in a very traditional ways which suited only the local audiences then.

Traditional tie and die painting
Image Courtesy: http://goo.gl/I8Z6qJ

India’s fashion industry hits it’s all time high in 2012 with designers like Suneet Verma, Tarun Tahiliani, and Ritu Kumar becoming the interest center of the world. The National Institute of Fashion Technology celebrated its silver jubilee in 2011 and celebrated a time when it has produced its first batch of designers.

Indian Ethnic Block Print Skirt. Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/gDShqV

Batic print Hippie dress in pure cotton. Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/TjXSAe

Ritu Kumar design 1990
Image courtesy:http://goo.gl/xO5D9v

Designers after a while started using mixed concepts to give a retro appeal to their garments. Indian fashion world that we see today have expanded to new horizons with fashion designers using different types of embroideries in a fusion way. The way the traditional prints were incorporated with the modern designs, people became more and more interested in them than ever. While most of the traditional embroidery and prints have not been much favorite of the designers earlier, the Zardozi’s kept the mills running. Beautiful zari work on garments entered mainstream fashion industry but earlier they were considered to be rich and unaffordable. Also traditional dresses became a hit and the embroidery became the U.S.P of the industry.

Indian fashion Industry blooming
Image courtesy: http://goo.gl/E8PJz5

Traditional Bead work. Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/GpGyLQ

Mirror work. Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/FGGzC3

Mirror Work. Image courtesy :http://goo.gl/xYH8N4

Apart from Zardozi, India is also among the top exporter of fashion and its concepts. Big UK fashion houses and Federated Stores have been known to shop from Indian markets. Since India offers cost-effective manufacturing as well as low-cost labor, international fashion houses love to manufacture their fashion products here. A lot of laces, zippers, buttons that are seen sewed on the ‘branded’ garments are actually sourced from India.

Traditional Zardosi work. Image courtesy : goo.gl/IvZhhe

Long Coat with Kashmiri hand embroidery. Image courtesy: goo.gl/hnYpDr

India has always been a warehouse of beautiful prints and skilled workforce. Designers in the 21^st century are utilizing these resources in a more intelligent way to suit their global audiences.

Malini Ramani at Wills India Fashion week. Image Courtesy : http://www.maliniramani.com

To know more about the inclusion of east and west stay tuned for the next post on Indian fashion Industry which is to be followed soon. If you have any questions then sound off in the comments section.

Evolution of fashion – Part 2

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apparels, blog, creative, freelance fashion designer, grunge, jelly shoes, Madonna, Michael Jackson, overalls, polka dot, skinny jeans, Supriya Ghurye, tech pack

Continuing to evoke the nostalgia of yesteryear as discussed in Part 1, let us alight from the time machine into the 80’s and catch a vivid glimpse of what made the fashion quotient from 1980 to 2010.

Eight fashion trends of 1980’s: jelly bracelets, jelly shoes, neon clothing, leg warmers, shoulder pads, and Guess jeans, back polka dots, Preppie clothes and wedges.

1980’s Women’s Fashion – Short dresses and miniskirts paired jelly bracelets, neon colors, sneakers.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/xx8fKi

1980’s Men’s Fashion .
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/3kXJqc

While girls tried to be Madonna by stepping into glittery PVC jelly shoes with off shoulder tops paired with lycra fabricated frilly knitted mini skirts and leggings on, adorned with big pendant necklace, danglers and fingerless gloves , boys donned a rock star look like Michael Jackson with acid washed skinny Guess jeans, jean jackets and t-shirt accessorized by Ray ban wayfarer sunglasses.

Women asserted their power with oversized jackets with shoulder pads, rolled up sleeves walking high in wedges. Oversized tops with Stretch-Stirrup Pants fascinated the younger crowd. 1980’s was infused with bright colors which gradually faded to more subtle colors in the 1990’s.

1980’s Women’s Fashion – Over sized jackets & shoulder pads.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/lXXEnw

Baggy or parachute pants of 80’s set the ball rolling for hammer pants of 90’s.

90’s saw youth with hypercolor t-shirt equipped with its color changing thermal technology pairing it with colored denims and reebok’s shoe pumping technology with slap bands on their wrist. Grunge and heavy metal look shrouded the youth who slipped metal chain accessorized wallets in their pockets. Mid 90’s overalls, scrunchies, skorts , nylon tracksuits haunted every girl’s wardrobe.

1990’s Fashion – denims.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/1dv1o6

1990’s Fashion.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/hJRCnd

1990’s fashion – knee length pencil skirts and semi formal dresses
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Image courtesy : http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8171/7988844899_ce2a10b42e_h.jpg

Coming out of the fond memoirs of 20^th century, lets step up to the start of this century which had an amalgamation of 1960s Mod ,1970s garage rock and contemporary alternative fashion .

Color palette for this decade was painted with tints of teal, cobalt blue, pink and neon yellow that were mellowed in  t-shirts and jackets, along with skinny jeans .

Vintage clothing saw use of garments with fabric scraps and remodeling new garments from old clothes.

Hipster fashion inspired braces, newsboy caps, hoodies became the favorite outfit of each teenager while Western shirts, bow ties, narrow neck ties, v-neck t-shirts, mismatched brightly colored socks, skinny jeans, paisley or geometric print shirts accessorized by retro eyewear.

2000’s Fashion celebrities in their skinny jeans
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/djhCqJ

2000’s Fashion – Paisley
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/IjWW1G

2000’s Fashion : Boho chic fashion .
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/1Yr4Vp

Attire of females included , job skirts, 3/4 length sleeved shirts, pencil skirts, jean skirts, floral skirts with opaque tights, footless tights, dresses and Peter collared tops worn with belts, striped or polka dot cotton shorts and skinny jeans

2000’s Fashion.
Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/cocSZC

2000’s Women’s Fashion full of colors…
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Image courtesy : http://goo.gl/t1rFjW

With this, let us wrap up this blog post, expecting you to revisit our site to peep into the future of clothing that will very soon change your wardrobe. So stay tuned.

Evolution of fashion – Part 1

Tags

1920, 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, A-line, Christian dior, fashion history, Hippie, little black dress, Marlyn Monroe, mini skirt, Twiggy

Roaring 20’s or 1920’s brought in its wake skirts while the men donned more casual than formal attire. There was an evolution of a section of women, who expressed resentment from the society and gave into smoking, wearing short dresses, had bobbed haircut.

Image courtesy : http://twentypiecesdotorg.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/fashion-in-1920s2.jpg

Image courtesy : http://image.glamourdaze.com/2013/04/1920s-fashion-dress-advice.jpg

 1930’s or stylish thirties showed a return of more contemporary lady like look with an emphasis on shoulders.

Image courtesy: http://img256.imageshack.us/img256/2788/spring1934cottondresses.jpg

Image courtesy : http://education.gtj.org.uk/storage/Components/496/49635_2.JPG

1940’s was engulfed in the rage of Second World War. Clothing technology was developing to adapt to the needs of warriors that led to the introduction of new fabrics. The trend of 1930’s was continued with experimentation in nylon and synthetic fabrics and use of zippers. suits were quite in vogue

Image Courtesy: http://www.1940s-fashions.co.uk/style/fashion-63.jpg

Image courtesy : http://www.1940s-fashions.co.uk/style/fashion-63.jpg

1950’s was the glamorous decade with Christian Dior ruling the roost. He introduced body hugging dresses with an emphasis on a women’s bodyline.Audrey Hepburn Little black dress( or rather LBD) , contoured jackets spelled the style quotient. A-line skirts portraying the waistline coupled with beehive buns and tight curls was the trend set by Marilyn Monroe.

Image courtesy : http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~mwaltos/lis506/project/1950s/images

http://blog.missesdressy.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/1950s-Style.jpg

With a renaissance of fashion in Italy and rise of music round the 1960’s, miniskirts, bare legs, embellishment with laces and wearing hats became fashion of the day with Twiggy personifying the trend of this decade.

Image courtesy : http://www.evelinecharles.com/UserFiles/SALON_SPA_BLOG_PICTURES/EC_Trend_Report/1960s.jpg

Image courtesy : http://i563.photobucket.com/albums/ss73/swingingsixties2/1960s%20Life%20and%20Fashion/60sLifeFashion7d.jpg

As the world saw the Hippy movement in late 60’s and 70’s, a breeze of sheer fabrics, tie-die, baby-dolls swept the fashion world. Towards the late 70’s discotheques brought in its wake flashy colors, platforms with tight bodice and bottoms.

Image courtesy : http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~mwaltos/lis506/project/1970s/images/1970sfashion.jpg

Image courtesy : https://fuel4fashion.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/6c1f9-casthair.jpg

This was a quick rewind into the 20^th century. Will soon bring you more trends from the latter part of 20^th century and start of 21^st century and showcase some of the choicest trends that will rein the future.