shades of blues and dirty purples
tanking
this sinking feeling
for once, these are images taken with an actual camera. click to see larger versions. thankgod for friends with SLRs and their generosity 
Outfit by GABA, Lakme Fashion Week, Mumbai, October 24, 2008.
I have been on the quest for the cool Indian designers since I landed in Hyderabad over three months ago. Fighting of the human calculators and living in the “small town” of four million people does not exactly aid my mission.
Finally, a finding happened last weekend at Anonym, one of Hyderabad’s few interesting clothing shops. Mild pastels, necessary minimum of detail and extreme attention to comfort singled out GABA from all of the other stuff in the store. Aneeth Arora and Chinar Farooqui, the makers of the brand, use earthy colors and natural fabrics. In the midst of “new” India, full of screaming billboards and modern concrete mosters, GABA offers comfort of the “old,” which is similar across the cultures. A GABA woman radiates warm assertiveness, quiet happiness and relaxing well-being. At the same time, she is stylish, and… cool.
Outfit by GABA, IFW Mumbai ’08
A piece by Charu Parashar from the Indian Fashion Week 2008 (pic from Rediff News)
Juicy colors of the Land of the Pretty encouraged me to look up Indian fashion designers. I remember reading in the Economist long time ago that Indian fashion industry mostly sticks to the local market and does not yet make a furror internationally. Truly, I have found close to nothing on Indian fashion in the Western Media, but found lots of badly compiled reports in the Indian online editions. Dude, if there is one Indian industry that could be taken to a new level with ease, it’s fashion, especially its online representation. I see mountains of work for webdesigners and SEO specialists, but is there demand?
There is though one Western lady who is really into “Indian” fashion. She freaked me out in the mall the other day. Gee, and I thought I left her in New York.
Barbie in Hyderabad Central
Barbie strikes again. I was riding in the subway and saw some girl next to me reading an antropology research paper on Barbie and society. I wonder what kind of a scientist wrote that piece and when – among other things, it claimed that pregger Barbie does not exist, but should.
Excuse me, but what is this then?
pregnant teenager Barbie
I also feel obliged to explain to you how Barbie has children.
Sometimes she uses an adhesive belly with a ready-made baby (comes fully clothed)
At other times the baby is naked and serves as a replacement for all of her intestents
In the meanwhile, The Economist writes away about Barbie - there is a reason why I like this magazine. And yes, I do hope Mattel makes a Barbie banker.
