Journo-fashion faux pas

I know as I write this that if any journalists do come across this blog they may not even comprehend the title, let alone the vein in which I write this blog. It saddens me these days to see yellow journalism take over good, truthful and straightforward reporting; money matters ruling what should or should not be printed; silly news milked dry for no apparent reason other than the mentally challenged minds of an audience that largely consists of the people making and reporting the silly piece in the first place; and most irksome of all, the so-called fashion police!!

Ask most journos on the fashion beat if they even have an opinion on fashion and they will look at you dumbstruck and think you are trying to show them down when all you are merely seeking to do is give an opinion to someone who can understand what you want to say.

Coco Chanel once said something to the effect of, fashion is in everything - the sky, the trees, the birds and the bees, etc. I believe, fashion is about doing something so extraordinary with the way you project yourself, with your clothes, hair, shoes, accessories, behaviour, that it becomes creatively brilliant, it becomes artistic. Wearing a revealing outfit, or to the untrained eye, mis-matched colours, or an incomprehensible hairdo, or footwear that breaks the norms, or a well-researched, fashionable garment that the average man cannot comprehend, becomes a fashion faux pax in India!

Phrases like "fashion disaster", "wannabe", "startlet", "fashion icon", and so many more are used excessively and wrongly in everyday news-reporting in our country. And the hypocrisy of it all in unbelievable. You get to be an "icon" only if you are famous even if you are ridiculously unfashionable in the true sense of the word or if you put together a look with the most expensive brands even if they end up looking mottled together thus and you get to be treaded on or merely ignored if you are not famous and dont flaunt the brand worth a million bucks.

Talent, an innate knowledge on the subject, or even an attempt to create a statement of your own are dubbed "wannabe". A fashion funda like mine - "if you have it, flaunt it and if you dont, hide it!" is considered bold, brash and "attention seeking".

I earn a living, I own my home, I support a family, I own my suv, I have performed live in over 1800 shows, I am a singer / songwriter, I have likes and dislikes, I am a wife, I am a mother, I am a homemaker, I believe in god, I have a conscience, I am a post graduate, I have always had straight As, I have been a national level sportsperson, I own my J Choos, Bottegas and LVs, I love my brands, I only own brands, I eat on the streets, I have friends, I love life, I love travelling, I am getting onto the big screen, I am realising my dreams, I am fullfilling my wishes, I ache, I breathe, I read, I write, I know more than most, I am educated, I love the English language, I aspire to perfect my Hindi, I am fashionable, I love fashion, I know why "the Devil Wears Prada", I spend for what I want, I pray for what I want but cant have now, I am human, I am wholesome, I am ambitious, I am kind, I am me, I am not a wanabe!!

Musically Challenged

So I have finally decided to revive my first ever band! Darkwater Fixation! I have been trying to trace its original composition but have failed thus far and hence shall revive it with an all-new set of musicians.
Darkwater Fixation was started at a time when rock bands were the most sought after in India. We were the first to play in the erstwhile Jazz Garden in Pune and actually gig-started it with the jazz-rock genre and we had arrived!
Sadly it was not enough to make a living on and like most bands struggling to make it through school days we got into the "popular" genre to survive and then drifted apart as that was not what we were about.
Yet here I am, an established live-show artiste, 3 album releases under my belt, film songs soon to release and an all-new album that I finally mustered the courage to compose myself, just around the corner, and the journey has made me richer and more confident, to put into motion again what I had dreamed of in school. All the electro-funk influences in my music, the rock edge to the vocals in some songs and the alternative side to me as a recording artiste have made me realise I would like to get back to square 1! I miss my band, I miss that thrill of giving existing music an electro-rock-funk twist of my own making and making music that transcended everything.
There you have it! I am inspired, raring to go and loving every minute of this new found artiste in me.