Pubicity for DIverse Hopes

Flipping through a renowned fashion or lifestyle magazine (as the two are truly quite different), a technical calculation would result in the sense of being cheated by paying for more of advertisements than just information - visual or written. But the ads do render knowledge for those who seek it. But is it truly effective in communicating the message which the sender, or in the philosophy of fashion, the designer wishes to convey to his clients? - Surely not always. Here are three diverse picks to implore the same.

Antonio Marras Fall/Winter 2010-2011

At the first view to the average target this would resemble a girl of the past century having a picnic in the countryside in autumn.

The broadcast which Marras wants to convey, however, is the era with the glasses and the selection of Black and white (which was a reference to the turn of the last century); a picture in which Paska awaits her love even in the midst of winter out in the open.

Here is Daphne Groeneveld, barely fourteen when the photo was taken. Regardless of her Swedish origin what Marras represented in his collections and wanted to characterise in the end effectively was his inspiration from Paska Devaddis from Sardinia, his region of nativity – romanticism and brutality layered onto each other as can be seen with the thick-soled rubber flats.

Success is not dependent on the ad alone for Marras, is it?

Rajesh Pratap Singh Fall/Winter 2008-2009

Travelling from Italy to India, we have a highly regarded designer here - Rajesh Pratap Singh, of Rajasthani Origin but who has experiences from Italy as well. He is well known to incorporate inspirations from the Thar Desert’s cultural wear into his clothes as well as clean cuts and attention to details, a trait he gained from the west.

In this particular propaganda he portrays a mirage from the desert, towards an oasis out of the border of the state. Thorny bushes and specifically bangles made of camel teeth, typical of what Rajasthani women wear, show the roots of the piece in display on a modern Indian woman. An unfinished hem to denote the rusticity for the skirt paired with an artisanal embroidered Jama (Royal Rajasthani men’s tunic which buttons as seen on the top, to the left and is cut short high in the waist, below which it is conventionally skirted out) in shades of Italian black and use of leather in the belt show an intellectual blend.

At first sight, from the occident, it would obviously seem inspired from the east but more Oriental and the scenario, equatorial. Vintage and a Japanese touch, perhaps?

Manish Arora Spring/Summer 2008

Appointed Creative Director of Paco Rabanne, due to his preference of modular insertions of handcrafted techniques in his collections, Manish always mirrored the backbone of Rabanne in spite of strong Indian roots, a powerfully similar trait of netting modules geometrically.

He believed in marketing internationally through every mode possible, “I knew that, to get international, I would have to collaborate with different global brands from Swatch to Absolut.” And then he landed in Paris for the fashion week in 2007. His collections are fun, vividly coloured and innovative (the carousel dress) and mount with a magpie vision, traditional technical details (Shisha embroidery – mirrors embedded onto fabrics).

One of his collaborative ventures for his Spring 2008 collection was with Swarovski crystals puzzled on a dress with Lord Ganesha’s face. The promotion clearly exhibits his work with the crystal elements and is the same, as it is perceived - an effectively marketed ad. Well, the Indians can be ace when it comes to entrepreneurship, isn’t it?