A Roman philosopher of the 1st century AD had once proclaimed “We live for fashion and reason”. Quite remarkable was this scholar’s foresight, because that is exactly what forms the communal crescendo of the Bengalis. The fashion quotient in Bangali life was strung on a revivalist mode in the early nineteenth century triggered off by the Renaissance.
The Bengal Renaissance, apart from an intellectual awakening did affect contemporary life very materially and surely fashion statements were revolutionized. The Bengali women defied the Pathan, Mughal or the English fashions and implemented their own trends. They started using the concept of colour matching and began wearing separate dresses for different seasons. Spring was the time for them to wear sky blue saree with black border and used floral garlands as headdress. During the Durga puja they wore sarees of different hues accompanied by floral ornaments and used cosmetics made from sandal and flowers. The ladies of the Tagore family became the trendsetters when it came to the usage of the sarees in the Bengali community. Men were not behind and the China coats and the “Babu” fashion ruled the roost. Style icons like Prince Dwarakanath Tagore, Michael Madhusudan Datta, Raja RamMohan Roy and even Rabindranath Tagore were the muse of the century.
The harbinger of another revival in Bengali fashion is surely Sharbari Dutta, who essentially is an artist and doesn’t fall in to a generic category of fashion designers. Sharbari being bred in an environment of creative synergies poured out her elements in her work and the Bangali Pungob needs to thank her if they have come out of the drudgery of the bleak world of stripes and checks. Sharbari rose above all cultural conditioning and handheld men into a world of colours which they would otherwise abhor. And today when a bridegroom wears a green embroidered dhoti, it is surely a testimonial to the fact that Sharbari has dispelled the myth of masculine wardrobe. Be it metrosexuals or ubersexuals, Sharbari has always celebrated manhood using folk-art like Madhubani paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphs, African tribal motifs, Greco-Roman relief, Persian and Arabian scripts.
Sharbai’s creations could be narratives by itself. Each art d’ object is a journey to the roots—folklores, epics, mythology have always fascinated the world of imagery for her. Rustling silks have been her canvas in the beginning and today she works on all kinds of weaves making her a holistic artisan, ready to enchant everyone with her magical nimble. On a return to roots, Sharbari made the diaspora realize the need for tracing back to heritage amidst blinding faith to western existence. Fashion is her medium and Sharbari is an iconoclast. This ensemble which Sharbari would put up will actually be a reflection of the cultural identity of India in transition. The perspective would be her fashion landscape and how traditions co-exist with trends and create a religion of no less order. Sharbari presents her synthesis of the evolution of culture in couture.
Dino Morea scorched the ramp dressed in Sharbari Dutta outfit today.