| Bhutan
- The Land of Weaving and Textiles |
| Bhutan's
Textile Industry |
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Bhutan's
Economy |
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Bhutan Information |
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Bhutan
comes of (fashion) age |
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| A
tall silhouette glides on to the darkened stage, accompanied by soulful
music. The lights come on, revealing a beautiful model in intricately woven
kira. As the light brightens more models sashay on to the catwalk, displaying
the finest of Bhutan's weaving tradition.
This
is home-grown Bhutanese fashion and the performance, according to captive
audiences which packed the hall over the past two days, was "fabulous". |
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The
second annual fashion show, organized by the textile museum, was truly
Bhutanese high fashion at its best. Set against a stone-walled façade
of a traditional Bhutanese house with a painted window, the choreography,
music, decor and the whole atmosphere of the show was a harmonious blend
of tradition and modernity.
The
show was choerographed by Bhutan's glamour ambassador, Kelly Dorji, who
in the past choreographed the Miss World and Miss India pageants. His advice
to the aspiring models was clear: "Always smile and look pleasant. Do not
let your shoulders droop. When you are on the stage do not talk or signal.
Do not be distractive and take away the focus from the clothes."
The
models - ages ranging from seven to 28 - are students, mothers, teachers,
business men and women, and civil servants. They flash endless smiles and,
indeed, look very pleasant. Trained for just 10 days, the 24 women and
11 men take to the ramp like professionals, the women more so than the
men. The fashion gala was initiated last year by the Textile Museum with
two objectives - to showcase Bhutan's textile wealth and to promote and
"expose" Bhutanese textiles with their emerging designs.
Bhutanese
textiles will certainly get more exposure this time. Fashion TV-India is
covering the event. The FTV coverage would put Bhutan on the international
fashion map and attract foreign interest in the country's textiles. The
models were "terrific", considering they were not professionals and were
on the ramp for the first time.
As
far as modern fashion goes, Bhutan has been virgin territory. No big haute
couture houses, no DKNY, or Pierre Cardin, no fashion magazines, no celebrity
models.
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