If there is a universal worry that cuts across people it is whether we fit into the clothes on the rack at the store, whether we look good, whether our body looks beautiful or not in what we wear...
Bengaluru based photographer/filmmaker Nandith Jaisimha and fashion designer Aloka Gloria D’souza came together for a photoshoot at his newly set up studio and got talking about all this. “I’ve been around friends who have size issues. Everyone seems to have difficulty when shopping for clothes, and it definitely has a huge impact on them. I’ve seen so many friends lose their self esteem because of it,” says Nandith of what triggered the idea for a film.
Aloka, 26, has been designing for the last three years out of her studio in the city. She says that being a designer who makes customised clothing, she realised each person has such a different body type, measurements and needs. After doing annual photo shoots to promote her work with typical “tall and thin” models or aspiring models, this year in January she decided she wanted to feature at least 10 people with different body types and portray clothing that suits them all.
“I couldn’t relate to these people and so I felt others wouldn’t either. I sat down thinking about this existential crisis. Fashion is for everyone. You don’t have to feel you need to lose weight, be thin, and or be negative about your body consciousness,” she says.
So Nandith developed further on her idea and produced and directed a short documentary Needle’s Eye - Fashion Beyond Shape, based on interviews with several women.
The film features nine women -- home-makers, architects, designers, artists -- talking about how they are expected to follow societal norms to conform to a certain body type, shape and structure, in order to be considered beautiful or fashionable. It features a teenager, and goes through age groups up to the age of 55 and also features the views of a cross dresser. The film was uploaded on YouTube three weeks ago. All the interviews featured were impromptu; nothing was scripted, says Nandith. Men haven’t been featured in the film, so does Nandith believe they don’t have body image issues? “Of course they do. But I felt it would be better to go with women’s perspectives because it is far wider and women are so particular about what they want to wear,” laughs Nandith. This is his first independent production, having assisted filmmaker Rajiv Menon on a short -- Plain Sita , and photographer Shibu Arakkal for three years.
Aloka also talks about how fashion designers in design school are taught to draw the ‘perfect figure,’ -- the 8 or 10 head figure, the ideal ramp-walk model -- typically six-footers, with as little body mass as possible. Even hoardings that advertise designer or retail clothing brands or fashion accessories show only these stick-thin models, generally with a fair complexion and long straight hair, observes Nandith. “Fashion must be dictated by the natural body type that one is born with. Fashion essentially is the art of dressing aesthetically, taking into consideration one’s unique personality and more importantly body structure. Different lines and silhouettes suit different body types,” they opine. Through the film, says Nandith, they hope to instil in people, a positive attitude about their body and an acceptance.
To know more about the film look up facebook.com/fashionbeyondshape
