Fashion is getting bigger and better. Global brands announcing an expansion, a new flagship store, or just brand extension to woo utopian shoppers is a recurring phenomenon these days.
The Shanghai Fashion week, 2014 held in April ended indeed very uniquely, yes with an anti-pollution mask. The unique gift with black and white geometric patterns was an inspiration of men’s wear brand Blackgateone’s director Hadas Zucker.
It reminded fashion lovers of the nation that fashion aims to capture “l’air du temps” literally meaning “air of the time,” but signifying trends of the time.
Now that this air has become unbreathable worldwide, especially in China and India, how could one sport fashion which exposes us to this air? It is known fact that precaution is better than cure but now that the damage is done, fashion needs to be revamped. It’s believed that pollution levels in Beijing have now come down to "very unhealthy" from "hazardous," but it still remains one of the biggest challenges of modern day.
As a response to Chinese Airpocalyse, big brands in China have inspired their new collection to equip urban nomads and enable them to survive pollution in the country. These included traditional draped coats and sleeveless tunics of Asian knights. The artistic designer Li Dengting’s fashion silhouettes reminded us of ancient peddlers in traditional Chinese paintings.
Climate change has definitely inspired fashion in India but it is time for our designers to think of battling air pollution, considering the recent World Health Organisation’s report on air pollution across the globe. According to the report, thirteen of the dirtiest 20 cities are from India with New Delhi, Patna, Gwalior and Raipur in the top four positions.
Since the report also says that the air in Delhi is dirtiest in the world, it is time to mould fashion in a momentous way to beat air pollution. Fashion landscape is becoming increasingly competitive and Indian designers have never lacked behind, neither will they ever!
picture courtesy- Forbes, Jerome Matthew
