Author: Rina Chandran
Publication: Masala Magazine
Date: June 4, 2001
The Urban Odyssey collection at
Bloomingdale's features clothing with images of Hindu deities
Last summer Macy's-at-Herald-Square
wore a Bollywood look; this year, Bloomingdale's is sporting a more divine
look. Its "Urban Odyssey" collection for spring includes a range of ready-to-wear
garments with images of Hindu deities.
The collection from the Moschino
Jeans label comprises t- shirts, jeans, pants, knits and dresses with images
of Shiva, Ganesha and a goddess, priced from $150 to $600. Besides Bloomingdale's,
the range is also available at Neiman Marcus, Saks, and some specialty
fashion stores, according to a Moschino spokesperson.
"The collection is targeted at the
typical Moschino customer, who is trendy, and slightly older, but aspires
to look younger," said Amy Bolden, of Moschino Jeans in New York City.
An in-house designer who draws inspiration from grand themes created the
line, she added. "Last year it was the Swiss Alps, this year it is Hinduism."
The collection is doing very well
at Bloomingdale's, confirms Stephanie Solomon, fashion director, women's
ready-to-wear, partly because t-shirts with images and messages that reflect
a consumer's personality are extremely popular. "Consumers are gravitating
toward spirituality and eastern religion now, so with these images they
feel a closeness (to their choices)," she said.
Bolden also agrees that the collection
is doing well because it ties in with other Indian trends, like yoga or
even Indian cuisine, that have recently gained popularity. Indeed, pop
stars and trendy teenagers alike have embraced some Indian icons - such
as the bindi, mehendi, nose-rings, toe-rings and anklets - as fashion accessories.
This is certainly not the first
time that Hindu gods - or actors dressed as Hindu gods - have been used
to sell fashion; last year, the gay magazine Genre had Alexis Arquette
as Krishna on the cover; the year before, Mike Myers appeared as a Hindu
god on the cover of Vanity Fair.
In both instances the magazines
drew flak from some Hindu groups. This latest avatar of Shiva and Vishnu
has not created a controversy so far, according to Solomon and Bolden.
(Rina Chandran, based in New Jersey,
contributes regularly to Masala Magazine.)
