No sex pls. We are fashionable

Monisha Jaising might not have meant to capture the secret desire for sexy dressing headon but she did Her sensual cutout gowns slender wrap dresses the glamorous blazers and kurtis in jersey and muslin were a femalefirst way to talk about a woman her body the way she dressed and teased ldquoIt was a different place and time The focus in India and world fashion was aligned to what women wantedrdquo she says about the brandrsquos subtle sex appeal that was centrestage in the early 2000sldquoOn social media the definition of sexy is either show all your guns or streetwear clothing What happened to subtle sex appealrdquo asks Monisha JaisingBy comparison in 2021 the clothes that fill the shows at Indiarsquos fashion weeks and the filtered posts on social media seem to be building blocks for the assumption that Indian women donrsquot like to feel or look sexy anymore So while riotous conversations on gender and diverse sexualities are in full swing in the country the acceptable tone for womenswear is antiseptic and as sexless as a Tupperware party ldquoSexy clothes have definitely taken a backseat in recent times First it was the slow economy to blame Brexit to some extent too But the lockdown has skewed clothing tastes hugely in favour of athleisure wearrdquo adds Jaising revealing plans to launch a new eveningwear line next month her first after a brief hiatusSabina ChopraNow that the travel and social calendar is unlocking gradually how many tracksuits and tunics do we have to scroll through until fashion wakes up from hibernationIndustry insider Sabina Chopra believes communication is in a hot mess here rules of social convention trump rules of attraction She has observed that 90 per cent of fashion communication is concentrated around the bridalwear space the only category of consequence in this country ldquoAnd within this culturally sensitive category communication canrsquot be overtly sexy Secondly to promote sensuality in an authentic way one has to be clever about photography use of models and mood not too many of us have this maturity Thatrsquos why communication is kept sexless thus saferdquo she adds Most clothing ideas hover on the surface forcing themes of ldquosustainablerdquo or ldquogenderlessrdquo without really changing your eye about clothes ldquoHeadlining ethical practices through fashion collections isnrsquot exciting anymore Being sustainable is a given for every brand What else do you have to sayrdquoAnjali Patel MehtaAnjali Patel Mehta agrees She argues that conscious fashion does not have to translate to unsexy ldquoThatrsquos where we confuse our messagingrdquo The designer celebrates sex appeal in her clothes by using the ergonomics of the cascading drape seen in her resort to readytowear brand Verandah that features dresses in varying lengths and styles of toga maxi and kneelength shapes swingy long jackets kaftans and the bestselling shirtdresses It also translates to her personal choice of clothes including when she wears her own designs ldquoSexy clothes are about fit confidence empowerment why should women get penalised for feeling thisrdquo That India is a tough market to please doesnrsquot help either She thinks India lacks curated retail spaces for brands like hers who are not interested in designing yet another type of ghagracholi ldquoStores donrsquot seem interested in looking beyond whatrsquos selling Why fix whatrsquos not brokenrdquo Mehta retails from her studio at Lower Parel and via a store in GoaIconoScape by Shivan amp NarreshldquoFashion can scream sex if designers want tordquo laughs Narresh Kukreja of the eponymous brand Shivan amp Narresh He argues that every fashion purchase is subconsciously made with the intent of feeling attractive and of being seen and admired When the designer duo launched their brand synonymous with sexedup clothing options for skiing surfing and safari holidays they had doubts They were unsure if their concept of ldquosexrdquo clothing as playful escapism would survive the fixed mindset A decade later interestingly they found their audience in millennials and generation Z ldquoOur brand stands for sex a term we associate with pure selflove It was a sartorial declaration of intent and to reframe conversations around how do you feel in a garment Men want to look hot too This intimate conversation we thought was missing When sales and profit outplays sex appeal fashion gets clinicalrdquo explains KukrejaldquoGood design is about problem solving Indian women are not tall so highslits shift proportions giving an illusion of long legsrdquo says Narresh Kukreja left of Shivan amp NarreshThe women empowerment narrative sometimes strangely doesnrsquot work in favour of the expression of sex Cultural gatekeepers some feminists politicians and the public all act as inadvertent censors sometimes fed by the sweeping generalisation that shifting emphasis from fabric to skin makes men vulnerable to sexual arousalItrsquos curious then that Choprarsquos first postpandemic purchase was a pair of red high heels These are associated variously with fertile female fantasy and even fetish But seldom as personal joy ldquoI wanted to do something indulgent for myself look good for myself Itrsquos secondary if it invokes desire in someone elserdquo she says plainly