Fashion publication

WHO?: Kurt Cobain
Genderfluid Fashion
What’s in the
streets: Coimbatore
In conversation
with: MAKU
Blues

ISSUE NO.01
FEB–MARCH 2019

Ly P STy K
L I P ST I C K

|| WHO? || 1

2 || WHO? ||
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|| WHO? || 3

From Cobain’s love of disheveled or its encroach into high-fashion is Martin
denim to worn-in fabrics to grandad Margiela. There is probably a gamut of
cardigans, we take a deep dive into aesthetic comparisons to make between
today’s dominant trends and show Cobain’s anti-fashion stance and Margiela’s
you how Cobain did them all first. off-kilter design DNA, like the designer’s
love for distressing, conspicuous wear, XXL-
Oversized everything scale shapes. Today’s street style capitals are
filled with fashion folk donning billowing,
Kurt to Kanye might not be an obvious distressed sweaters with destroyed hem-
connection at first glance, but there’s no ming, probably unaware of their accidental
doubting the ways in which Yeezy has man- salute to Cobain.
aged to remix elements of the ‘90s grunge
movement with the contemporary codes of Jackie O Sunglasses
streetwear. Since Yeezy Season 1, oversized
everything has been raging. Elongated Cobain loved his alien-esque, Jackie O shades
sleeves are ubiquitous, proportions have by Christian Roths. Arguably, they can be con-
long been overblown and shapes are bal- sidered one of the most iconic features of the
looning like never before. Naturally, it was Grunge God’s immortal style. These simple,
Cobain who first made the slouchy silhou- pale oval shades basically cemented Cobain’s
ette his own aesthetic signature in the ‘90s. grubby, androgynous cool. Silver Lining
Literally, everything he wore was completely Vintage x Opening Ceremony reissued these
ill-fitting, comically huge and lumbering. frames back in 2010 but their infectious hype
has far from waned since then. Most notably,
Pajama Shirts Hedi Slimane reprised the silhouette for his
SS16 men’s collection at Saint Laurent Paris
It’s one of the more surprising trends to and they’ve enjoyed heavy rotation among the
emerge as of late, but since the FW16 col- Instagram “it crowd” since.
lections, sleepwear as outerwear has been
writ large across the runways. Of course, Ripped Jeans
there’s something majestic about a pajama
shirt when it’s rendered in Italian silk Distressed denim has always been a hallmark
(thanks, Gucci) but Kurt Cobain wearing signature of grunge style, and that’s thanks
pajamas to his wedding definitely sits on to Cobain and his enviable sense of noncha-
the more subversive end of the sartorial lance when it came to literally everything.
spectrum. Cobain reportedly opted for PJs Cobain wore his angst as well as he wore his
because he was too lazy to put on a tux. denim, and it was always vintage, sandblast-
ed, washed-out, worn-in, ridden with holes,
Destroyed Jumpers shredded and ripped as hell. Though Cobain
preferred his jeans on the baggier side, the
Who knew Kurt Cobain’s ratty, moth-eat- more recent ripped denim revival has been
en, thrift-store knitwear could have such largely flanked by slimmer silhouettes. Kanye
staying power? The late rock star’s love for wearing ripped jeans to the Met Ball in 2016
sloppy, careworn, ripped and patched back has probably helped solidify this trend’s recent
knitwear seems like an unlikely reference dominance too.
today. Of course, the designer responsible

4 || WHO? ||

Band Tees has slightly waned, but recent seasons
on the fashion calendar have signaled a
Nirvana T-shirts are donned by everyone revival of sorts. From Gucci’s geeky take
from trend-riding millennials to Kanye on the grandad cardigan to TAKAHIROMI-
West to Justin Bieber to Kim Kardashian YASHITA TheSoloIst’s FW16 collection
and in an ironic twist of fate, it was zeit- that featured a literal replica of Cobain’s
geist-shaker Kurt Cobain who unapologet- cigarette-hole-filled cardigan. This sea-
ically worked the tribute tee into his garb son, Kanye West presented his take on
of off-beat grunge. Nowadays, the trend for the grandad cardigan in a deep burgundy
band tees exclusively indulges the main- shade for Yeezy Season 5, so it’s safe to
stream icons, however, Cobain chose a expect an onslaught of oversized, billow-
more underground approach. Most famous- ing cardigans everywhere now.
ly, he wore the ‘Hi, How Are You’ shirt (bear-
ing Daniel Johnston’s album art) at the 1992 Layering
MTV Video Music Awards, inadvertently
thrusting Daniel Johnston,an outsider artist Kurt Cobain might be an involuntary style
at the time, into the limelight. icon but his lessons in casual layering
remain unrivaled, even today. Even when
Flannel Shirts he was performing onstage, under the gaze
of bright lights and a demanding live set,
Another iconic piece of the grunge uniform Cobain preferred to wear a heavy abun-
that owes its timelessness to Kurt Cobain is dance of layers. Cobain was a deft hand at
the flannel shirt. Despite the dominance of mixing textures and colors. It didn’t matter
athleisure in recent years, the flannel shirts if it was graphic t-shirts, light wash denim
have survived the purge unscathed and it jeans, a flannel shirt and oversized knitwear,
remains a trend-proof, wardrobe staple. his blasé attitude to fashion is what imbued
More recently, it hasn’t been guitar-shred- his look with a sense of impenetrable cool.
ding, indie stars who have reinvented
grunge but the likes of A$AP Rocky, Kanye Gender Fluidity
West, and Rihanna.
It shouldn’t really be a surprise to die-
Grandad Cardigans hard Nirvana fans but Kurt Cobain was
basically a feminist fashion icon. Though
Back in 2015, a cardigan worn by Kurt Cobain’s style is immortalized by grunge,
Cobain on Nirvana’s 1993 MTV Unplugged he was often man enough to indulge his
performance sold at auction for a whopping femininity too. Most famously, he graced
$137,500. Cobain wore his fuzzy cardi, the cover of 1993’s September issue of The
sloping slightly off his shoulders as he Face, donning a buttoned-up tea dress and
strummed through “The Man Who Sold the chipped red nail polish. Though Cobain
World” and “Polly”, paired with a simple can’t be solely credited with widening
white t-shirt and pair of baggy jeans. It’s an mainstream society’s understanding of
iconic look that epitomizes Cobain’s non- the performativity of gender, he certainly
chalant approach to fashion. Over the last helped the cause.
few years, the grunge appeal of the cardigan

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6 || GENDER FLUID FASHION ||

Over the course of the
last year, conversations
surrounding gender
expression have gained
considerable momen-
tum, as the line between
the traditional male and
female binaries grow
increasingly blurred and
the cultural landscape
begins to shift.

These conversations
haven’t been lost on the
fashion industry. Iden-
tifying as gender-neu-
tral myself, I’ve been
flooded with excitement
to see more and more
designers choosing to
create gender neutral
lines. But though the
topic is now, at least, on
the table, what’s actually
happening on a practi-
cal level is a far cry from
where things need to be.

WHAT FASHION NEEDS TO
UNDERSTAND ABOUT BEING

GENDERNEUTRAL

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Given a positive slant, fashion’s burgeoning acceptance of “At the moment, the
gender fluidity does show promise. But for the most part, the emergence of gender
conversation lacks depth and nuance when it comes to tilting
the binary. Over the last few years, a number of high-end and
high street brands have entered into the market seeking to cater neutral lines that are
for gender neutral customers, and the 2018 nominees were cred- literally just menswear
ited for “treading a unisex line” according to WWD. Where the feel like less of a move
likes of Charles Jeffrey, 69US, and Eckhaus Latta show a natu- towards increased
ral propensity toward gender neutrality within their collections, equality, more
others joining the movement show less consideration as to what
a move like that actually means.
H&M and Zara, for example, have both presented ‘gender
neutral’ offerings of hoodies, sweatshirts and t-shirts designed towards ideas that
for both men and women. But while their intentions may have femininity is invalid
been positive, each collection was merchandised either within
the menswear or womenswear section of both stores, mean- and masculinity is
ing gender neutral customers still had to make a decision as to standard.”
which to head for. For the most part, my rejection of the male-fe-
male fashion dichotomy means
heading straight to the menswear
section, and all the old signposts Past that first hurdle, comes a sec-
still mark my decision. Despite ond obstacle: from the selection of
brands’ efforts, I’m not able to styles on offer, I face choices that may
make purchases without physi- fit my gender presentation, but won’t
cally (or digitally) placing myself fit my body. I was born female, identify
within one category or the other. as gender neutral, and wear menswear.
As with the history of medicine, Is it really that revolutionary for me
signposts, and even language, it’s to wear trousers and muted colours?
that which is male which is seen Why does the fashion industry as-
as ‘neutral’. sume I’m breaking convention rather
that choosing a desired ambivalence?
And while I don’t want to downplay the merits of clothing lines
that advocate for girls who don’t want to wear pink, on the other
end of the spectrum, there is little done to acknowledge those
born male who do not wish to only wear menswear. Gender neu-
tral does not mean ‘without any traditional female signifiers’, as
most retailers seem to believe. Girls clothes appear exclusively
for girls, but boys clothes are for everyone: the silent but ap-
parent contradiction that undermines fashion fluidity becomes
obvious under minor scrutiny. Why can’t dresses and skirts be
gender neutral too?
For the most part, brands are not pushing current definitions
of gender expression. Instead, we see traditional men’s styles
presented as a blanket statement which capitalise on existing
social movements and the political consciousness of consum-
ers. It’s a pattern that both excludes and insults the non-binary,
transgender, and non-conforming individuals that brands have
the opportunity to appeal to.

8 || GENDER FLUID FASHION ||

Where the likes of H&M and Zara’s endeavours into gender
fluid or neutral offerings failed, there are some doing things
right, though. Phluid Project, which opened in New York recent-
ly, is the city’s first dedicated space that displays gender neutral
clothing in a manner that rejects the male-female binary. Else-
where, in 2017, British department store John Lewis made the
move to stop explicitly labelling their childrenswear for boys or
girls, offering hope for structural change that goes well beyond
other seemingly trend-jumping efforts.
Still, as a non-binary person who strives to wear clothes with-
out regard to gender, I still don’t feel represented. I want variety,
not a one-sided bargain. Jeans should not be the only immediately
comfortable garment I own, and if jeans can be gender-neutral,
then what is the cultural roadblock that prevents skirts from re-
ceiving the same treatment? What rules do we need to break to
upend masculine and feminine ideologies? Dresses and heels can
be for everyone. We need the potential beauty of gender expres-
sion to transcend currently inescapable norms and conventions.
So how would these actually
gender-neutral ranges work? Ac-
cepting gender fluidity, designs Gender Free World, for example,
has created their own sizing meth-
must account for the variety of od which completely eradicates the
body types related to assigned sex;
gender neutral clothing needs to fit need for numbers: instead, it consists
of a series of names that correspond
all shapes. Size ranges should ex- to different body types. SK Manor Hill
pand to accommodate body shape,
comparable to waist and leg length has drawstrings on all their trousers
to accommodate its customers’ vary-
when purchasing jeans. ing shapes, while Seeker solves the

fitting problem with elastic waistbands
and two ways to fasten—a tie or a button. Such diversity and cus-
tomisation should not remain limited to a small, exclusive,
“Gender neutral and often expensive, range of labels, though. By attempting
does not mean to sell gender neutral fashion, the industry fails to promote
‘without any diversity in a way that invites productive conversation about
gender expression. According to a study by GLAAD, 12 per cent
of young people now identify as something other than cisgen-
tradition female der, meaning that increased representation is non-negotiable.
signifiers’, as most To move forward from here, non-binary individuals need to be
present for all steps of the design and production process, both
retailers seem to of garments and retail spaces. If my body doesn’t fit into existing
believe”
style categories, then I need to be able to help make the new cri-
teria. To refuse such choice pushes me back to where I started,
and forces me to continue making a decision between two man-
nequins that mean nothing to me. There are no two ways about it.
It’s time the wider fashion industry cemented their commitment
to designing for our new, real, and widening-gendered world.

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|| WHAT’S IN THE STREETS || 9

WHAT’S IN THE STREETS

“What’s in the streets”, is a series that explores fashion found in the streets
of a city.

“I’ve often wondered about how fashion has turned into H&M, Zara and Vero Moda,
hoodies, croptops and space buns, basically something that the western world per-
cieves as beauty. I’ve respected that side of fashion but have always been interested
in looking into the streets of cities and seeing what they define as fashion and beauty.
I believe that fashion still comes from the roots, and if not then ideas surely do. This was

an attempt in exploring fashion on the streets of Coimbatore.”
Photography: Aswin K

Art Direction: Bhairavi B

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Ukkadam busstand,
2pm scorching heat,
a muffler on the head.
An interesting combination.

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Flowers, real and fake with knots and braids.

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Long, oiled braids with bright colours.

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Piercings donned with jewellery
that tell their own stories.

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Daytime profits as well as noontime siestas, only with

a cool head.
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|| WHAT’S IN THE STREETS || 15

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Glimmering anklets that cannot be unseen

even while they hide.
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Lungis with contrasting colours and a touch
of gold, tied in ways comfortable to work.

18 || WHAT’S IN THE STREETS ||

Comfort and aesthetics.

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|| IN CONVERSATION WITH || 19

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MAKU TEXTILES

When Santanu Das started designing clothes, his motivation was not to find
himself on a runway. Instead, it was his way of digging deeper into his culture, and
creating something that would not just meld into your wardrobe and look pretty, but
start a larger dialogue about sustainability. When he conceptualised Maku Textiles
while still studying at National Institute of Design, he found inspiration in his
mother’s wardrobe, and knew that the answer to his label’s identity lay in his own
roots. With a trans-atlantic shift back home from New York—where he was working
with Lori Wietzner—­S­ antanu found himself in forgotten villages peppered across
West Bengal. As he sat working with tangail and jamdani weavers, he realized that
he had found what he had been looking for. Toiling over looms, he soon found a
voice for Maku, that didn’t snatch away the innate creativity of the weavers, but
instead, added to it.

Over a conversation, Santanu walks me through slow fashion, Maku’s paper-
thin, wispy clothes, and his fascination with indigo. I delve into his world of white
and blue.

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|| IN CONVERSATION WITH || 21

How did Maku come about?
After finishing my course at NID, I ran off to New York and
started working for a design studio called Lori Weitzner Design
Inc. Lori Weitzner makes very high-end wall coverings in
luxurious silk jacquards. Soon I was bored with these expensive
machine-made silk drapes. I was looking for an answer to these
end less consumption patterns. Thus I engineered my project
to come up with a range of textiles, meant for wall coverings,
using craft skills in the Indian subcontinent. I strongly felt it is
more meaningful to pay 15 dollar a yard to a weaver in a village
in India than a high-tech factory in Japan, producing hundreds
of yards every day. But it was important to shout it out, therfore
I chose natural indigo as my medium to communicate the core
value to the consumers. But unfortunately at home, unlike
the fashion world, work does not deal with consumers directly.
Therefore when I came back to india and was trying to make a
living out of art, I chose to start my indigo journey again, but in
fashion this time. Thus Maku born on 2nd September 2011. But
it was November 2012 when we had our first exhibition.
What drives Maku’s ethos?
Everyday we are flooded with choices. With every single choice,
we grow a little more intolerant to our surroundings. This act
of intolerance is one of the global crisis we face today. Maku
attempts to address this problem by limiting choices. The brand
has been designed to force its audience to look deep into a nar-
row array of products, material and aesthetic. Maku’s aesthetic
pool is so silent and invisible, that it demands certain interest
and curiosity from its consumer.
Who is the Maku woman and how do you define her?
The Maku woman is someone who is defined by her choices
which are carefully designed. She exudes an old world charm
but she steps ahead of her times. She identifies with excellence
but prefers the subtlety of imperfections. Her aura is mystery
and her eyes are deep. Little that we know about her, intriges
us to explore .
Take me through your Spring Summer ’17 collection and its influences.
As Maku’s shift from collection to collection is very subtle, our
seasons are majorly dictated by shades of indigo and our tex-
tiles. This summer we have used a lots of natural whites in form
of fine 100% khadi cotton, hand-woven bengal malda silk and
cotton blend, linen and jamdanis. We have used pale shades of
indigo, representing spring’s soft skies. You will also see lots
of stripes and checks. This season we have brought back the tra-
ditional four petal flower motif in jamdani, which we had used in
our first collection. This was important because it trigered the
trend in jamdani weaving very subtly. Prior to this, traditional
jamdani motifs were not used much in main stream fashion.

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Design layouts were given to the weavers to weave customized
textiles. This was slowly eating away at the skill of the weavers
and was diminishing their faith in their own practice and its vi-
sual language. When we picked this simple motif—so that even
newer generation of weavers can weave—they were surprised
and had very little hope for the design. But soon our production
picked up, and also newer way of using jamdani (as an all over
motif) became popular. Soon in the following years, weavers
started getting more and more orders on such traditional mo-
tifs. Today I see many newer sustainable brands using jamdani,
and it makes me feel very happy.
A few years ago, you worked extensively to revive tangail weav-
ing. Since then how have you worked on recovering traditional
weaving practices?
Five years ago we started with 5 weaving families in West
Bengal, who practiced tangail weaves. After 5 years, today we
still work with them. Only difference is the number. Today we
are working with around 100 weavers. These weavers are our
greatest strength. We never work on a designer-weaver basis.
Rather, working on the design offers us a platform to sit with
our weavers and co-create all our surfaces. We are just the cen-
tral design team, we do not make them loose their identity. Each
one of our fabrics are very specific to the region. From texture
to motif to finish, nothing is foreign to the village. Even from
village to village, skill set of weavers changes. We work accord-
ing to their abilities.

Tangail and jamdani are the same technique. Both are extra
weft inlay brocade on fine cotton muslin. Jamdani is celebrated
worldwide, whereas tangail was restricted only to Bengal. But
as a bengali boy, I have witnessed tangail more in my every
day context, since my mother wears tangail sarees everyday at
home. These memories of the cotton handwoven sarees, with a
narrow selvedge border, and few scattered inlay motif all over
the saree in bright colours on a white background, resonate
with me till today. It is a distinctive characteristic of Maku
fabrics. Besides, I have found many Bengali friends shared
similar connection with these tangail sarees. But today, saree
weaving culture at home has remarkaby reduced. Thus market
for these sarees has shrinked only to the local rural market. But
rural market prefers more colours and jacquared patterns. Thus
tangail is slowly moving toward its extinction. May be in next
10 years, it will exit silently and there will be nothing left in this
practice besides our memories.
Working with indigo dyeing is an integral part of Maku’s signa-
ture. What led to this?
The most magical aspect of indigo is the extraordinary chem-
istry involved in it. But it also depends on soil, temparature
and handling. It is almost like wine making. Thus the process

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|| IN CONVERSATION WITH || 23

of dyeing with indigo is similar to cooking, knowledge which
is impossible to document with only words. It demands all our
senses to internalise the craft and sustain the practice. This is
also the path of philosophy we follow at Maku. From fabric to
silhouettes, we harness these senses. We appreciate every im-
perfection and diversity that is offered by our practice. We seek
beauty and peace in every fold.
What’s next for Maku?
Maku is neither fashion, nor art. It is my deeper urge to bring a
change. A purpose which gives me focus. An attempt to change
the world. Change towards sustainability. Change towards toler-
ance. It is not luxury, rather it is a lifestyle. Therefore, it is not
enough for us to aspire to sell through high-end retail chains
and offer shows at runways. Rather we want to touch as many
souls as possible. Through our fabrics, aesthetics and spiritu-
ality. We want to make Maku available in every major city in the
world. We want to connect to people who believe in our ethos,
and reflect back on their sentiments to our products. It might
not be the answer to the crisis. But a collective hope towards a
better world.

24 || IN CONVERSATION WITH ||
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|| BLUES || 25

26 || BLUES ||

Blues.

Styling and photography: Bhairavi
Model: Arundhati Sunil
Words: Simran Bapat

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|| BLUES || 27

28 || BLUES ||
Floudering in the shadows of my own past, guttering and choking
among the sudden flashes of light and eminant sounds of the
bodies loose, as though devoid of senses, hanging on to an odd
rhythm, zombies at their best.

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|| BLUES || 29
I found myself, in a bubble of void in this foresaken
universe, somewhat aloof, somewhat lonely, despite
the constant chatter that filled up a closed room.
Never did I know that a being could inflict a series of
so many emotions.
It never fades away. What was absolutely labile were
the seemingly dead folk.
How could they bruise?

30 || BLUES ||
In place of blood, there were

empty promises.
In place of flesh, there were lies.

In place of warmth, there was a
cold wind of deception.

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|| BLUES || 31
Look into my eyes,
look at who I have become.
Just another dusky figure that walks across
the college hallways, passing by innumer-
ous back stabbing bobble heads filled with
desolation and mirth that only came from
another’s misery.

32 || BLUES ||

Then who is my friend?
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200 RS