There was no runway, no models, no extravagant textiles or designers, yet the evening was all about fashion as Nirupama Singh Dar launched her book Fashion, Popular Culture and Political Economy at the India International Centre. The intimate gathering saw friends and family come together to celebrate the launch of the book.Sunil Sethi, the Chairman of FDCI, who was the chief guest at the event, said, “I am here to honour and regard an old relationship. Dr Nirupama Singh Dar was the first fashion blogger at FDCI, in 2010, when digital was just emerging. She was the one who kickstarted the digital journey of FDCI fashion weeks.” Adding, “According to the author, the book is a starting point for a subject called Sociology of Fashion and Political Economy. And in my view, the book is a documented narrative of India being a mega player in the textile trade – which is indeed India’s soft power. I learnt this term recently!
(laughs)
.”
Sunil Sethi, FDCI Chairman, was the chief guest at the book launch
The book maps and also deconstructs the nexus between fashion, economy, politics through the lens of pop culture, movements and social theory. Author Dr Nirupama said, “In the 1990s, when I was studying in JNU, the dichotomy women were faced with was how they were supposed to be fashionable and the language of fashion that emerged, but I felt that fashion must speak the language of women empowerment. That is where my journey started.“
Dr Nirupama Singh Dar
Friends and family come together to celebrate Dr Nirupama’s book
Delving into the themes of the book, she said, “Fashion no longer belongs only to the designers, women are very much a part of how they want to be seen, interpreted. The book looks into Indian and international fashion from 1900s to now, sensuality of Indian womanhood that draws heavily from Bollywood, cybernetics of fashion, fast fashion and more.”
Abhay K, Deputy Director General of ICCR, was the guest of honour at the book launch party
“There’s something for everyone in the book, even for those only remotely interested in fashion,” remarked economist Madhav Dar, the author’s husband, as he concluded the book launch session.
Madhav Dar
