Meet the skirt-chasers

The man skirt seems to be adding a new dimension to the metrosexual male with its quirky edge and shock value, courtesy several Indian and international celebrities. While it has been flaunted now and again by a few daring men from the fashion industry and otherwise, Ranveer Singh became the first celebrity to put it on Bollywood’s fashion map. The actor, on two occasions, sashayed in a man skirt, which became a talking point in the industry. Even though the trend is still at a somewhat nascent stage here, globally designers have been trying to blur the gender distinction for a while now. Alexander McQueen’s Fall collection last year had men in kilts walk the ramp. Closer home, Rohit Bal gave us a glimpse of the garment at the India Bridal Fashion Week around two years ago. But with Ranveer Singh giving it the Bollywood’s stamp of approval, is the sartorial twist here to stay

Designer Raghavendra Rathore, who is famous for his finely tailored luxury men’s wear, sees this as a fleeting moment in fashion.

He says, “It’s more of a passing fad I feel. These kilt inspired skirts are mostly for impact on the runway; they have no significant retail value. It’s traditionally worn in Scotland and other parts of Europe as uniform and heritage clothing and it has remained so since then.” Agrees Riyaz Gangji. Pointing out at Ranveer’s example, the designer says, “Ranveer was able to pull it off well because he was confident and the garment has a shock value. It’s more of an experimental thing and I have seen musicians adorning these skirts with jackets in the West. Here it’s a new thing, Ranveer is making a historic film, it is necessary for him to catch people’s attention, make a statement.” And what would be his take on it “Well, I personally find it very funny and would only design something of this sort to amuse the audience. Which wife or girlfriend would want their men to wear a skirt ”

Narendra Kumar Ahmed, another well-known name in men’s fashion points out how the man skirt is another manifestation of the lungi. “If you see, kilts which are the knee-length skirts as well as full-length skirts have been prevalent in India since a very long time, and that is the lungi which is basically a wrap around skirt itself. It is most common in south India and available in a vast variety of colours. Although, its presence has been there for long, it just didn’t have a fashion language. Of course, one must be cautious about their legs when it comes to wearing a kilt or the full-length skirt,” he says and adds, “Most men in India are skirt shy, and they do not readily experiment much. Personally, I would love to experiment with the male skirt, but I need to work and prepare myself before that.”

Parmesh Shahani, head of Godrej India Culture Lab, agrees with Narendra about flowing garments being nothing new for Indian men. He says, “Whether it’s the lungi or the sarong from South India, there have been many manifestations of flowing garments for men here. So I don’t think that man skirts are new. When designers like Anju Modi puts them together with a bandh gala and someone like Ranveer wears them, they are brought back in vogue. It’s good, because I think for too long we’ve been conforming to Western ideas such as shirts and trousers. So it’s good when someone like Ranveer can remind us so confidently about the possibility that Indian fashion has. I salute Ranveer for playing with his looks. But then again they’re just reminding us of something beautiful that we’ve always had.” Parmesh has tried the man skirt himself, “I have myself worn a skirt at an event in the US. I teamed it with black boots and a military styled jacket,” he says.

Art curator and designer Himanshu Verma is one of the few daring men in the city to have flirted with the skirt. But he admits he prefers the sari. Himanshu says, “I wear more saris than skirts because I think they are the most androgynous forms of garments. I try to experiment with fluid garments and make them a part of men’s wardrobe. There is a very marginal difference between a dhoti that men traditionally wear and a sari, you can drape a dhoti in the form of a saree and vice versa. I believe if a woman can carry off trousers with ease, a man can do the same with a skirt. Both sari and skirt look good on all body types.”

Not everyone agrees. Namit Khanna who has walked the ramp in a skirt for Rohit Bal at the India Bridal Fashion Week says, “I would never wear it otherwise, having grown up in an environment and being shown that it’s more of a feminine thing. The trend hasn’t caught up in India much, I have noticed designers and stylists wear it in our after-show parties.”

For model Rouallah Gazi, however, it all comes down to comfort. Gazi, who has worn the man skirt for designers Shantanu-Nikhil, Sabyasachi and Nikhil Thampi, says, “Outfits are all about comfort and if you are comfortable it doesn’t matter whether it’s a pair of jeans or a skirt. The more it trends, we will see more people wearing it. Sometimes I wear a skirt to parties because it is very comfortable. A person need not have any particular physique to wear a skirt.”