FOR THOSE WHO WATCH THE RAMP LIKE A
hawk and devour glossies like they are the newest health snack, fashion courses through their veins and they know how to sift through the grit and pick designers, fashion houses, fabrics, and trends that count. When it comes to men’s fashion though, there has always been a perception that they get the short end of the stick as the market has been skewed towards women’s wear. Cut to 2017 where fashion houses are wooing the male like never before, enticing them to become part of their latest vanity projects. According to a Euromonitor International report, menswear in India did much better than women’s wear in 2016, registering retail current value growth of 13 per cent compared to 11 per cent for the latter. Menswear in India is expected to reach sales of ` 1,79,500 crore by 2021.
Our fashion issue charts the journey of a celebrity who reflects the evolution in mens fashion, given his penchant for all things stylish. Shahid Kapoor has come a long way, fashion wise, since his first film Ishq Vishq. In our cover story he chronicles his makeover both on and off screen and also shares his wardrobe staples.
He is globally considered one of the greats and the cult of Giorgia Armani just got bigger as one of the pioneers of global men’s fashion shares his vision for a stylish future. What are the trends being mapped in the men’s wear space and what are the silhouettes, colours, fabrics that are making the cut globally. As 2017 draws to a close, his insights are a natural marker of what lies ahead on the fashion curve.
Today, the search for a customised, well- fit shirt goes beyond the local darzi as intelligent brands make India- inspired bespoke shirts both sexy and fashionable. The world inhabited by art and fashion are similar, as designer Rajesh Pratap Singh and artist Subodh Gupta discover. In this issue they walk across the bridge that connects both and share insights about where they intersect.
If you thought jewellery was only the preserve of women or a particular breed of men, international jewellery designer Poonam Soni challenges that notion as she decodes the suave metrosexual’s sparkle trends.
It’s a good time to be male and you no longer need to be conscious of loving stylish things or courting coveted designers. The fashion world is a level playing field and one where you are free to write your own rules, one style at a time.