Faking Fashion

Chances are, if you reside in Delhi-NCR, you will be using the metro. You could be one of those who thought that you would use the travel time to steal a nap. And then the truth hit you -- right in the general compartments. The hair you had carefully combed and the deodorant you had generously applied, all got lost in the pack of many others, just like you.

But hang on, spare a thought for the Grand Guccis and the Lovely Louis Vuittons and of course, our very own “Sabyasachi Sarees”. So many exquisite replicas have come up that it does not matter if you get off the metro with an LV (honestly, not possible). As for the industry, while they do have their loyal limitations to being an original (the B&L on a RayBan lens), or the inimitable white dot on a Sheaffers), the counterfeits most affects the desirability to own an original.

Like the concept of photography, a fashion fake now, is as real as the original. And more than the economy, it is killing the loyalty one had towards a given brand. What with online forums offering mind-boggling discounts, everyone wears Jack & Jones and Calvin Klein, but the fashion gets killed when the wearer takes upon him/herself to responsibly display the newest possession – more like a child with a new toy. Imagine your car mechanic checking your bumper and you get to see the bold and unapologetic misspelled “Calvin Klin” glaring at you from over his low-waist, torn, “Livice” denim.

Not to sound elitist, but certain things never run out of fashion. I would, for instance, any day prefer a mechanical HMT (Tissot would be better) watch over a flashy DKNY. No, not to set myself apart from the crowd, but because there is a sincere pride involved in routinely winding the timepiece on my wrist. It is not a collection of alphabets which defines fashion – it is always the attitude that comes along.

The fashion industry has never found much limelight outside of its own glamorous circle. What differentiated a garment from what is in ‘fashion’? Novelty? Acceptability? Absurdity? The industry must have devised the formula of a combination of all the factors, subject to a constant change. It is a matter of the great project, misleadingly called “Made in China”, otherwise known as “Locally Reproduced”. The original piece was a work of art, nothing can deny that, and come what may, you can always tell a print from the original!

Mass production has brought MK bags in the hands of college going first years. Michael Korrs would certainly not be too happy about it. Nor would Diesel see the reason behind a brand called “Petrol”. Sadly for the industry, the replicas have mushroomed, and not all are safe, as you know. It seems to have followed the tick of Nike too seriously to “Just Do It”, in the process, proficiently murdering the ‘why’ you would do it.