Luck goes stylish

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A model sports Swati Mehrotra’s astro shoes

A UK-based feng shui expert, Marites Allen recently introduced her clothing line and made the audience curious with her “lucky” garments. Named after the goddess of prophecy and destiny, Frigga, it incorporates feng shui principles into fashion design, with each item promising to attract positive energies into the wearer’s life.

While the idea of merging fashion and feng shui may seem new, Indian designers have been using elements of good fortune and creating designs that are stylish and auspicious at the same time.
The symbolic meanings attached to our clothes can alter how we approach and interact with our surroundings, says designer Anuradha Ramam, who has used a lot of signs, verses from the scriptures, block-print Ganesha on saris, stoles, dupattas and other garments.
“I am attracted to mythology and I can feel the power of these mantras. So a few years back I decided to incorporate certain elements, like shlokas, auspicious colours like yellow and orange, Om motifs and images of Ganesha, that bring out positivity and result in good energy around the wearer,” she says.
Similarly designer Sunil Mehra has been doing Krishna-inspired clothing for almost a decade as he believes that the elements used bring the wearer close to consciousness. He says, “Clothes are secondary, it is the concept behind them which is important. It’s all about belief. Ganges is sacred to some while it’s just a river for others. Therefore, those who believe that only good will happen to them can feel the goodness. Fashion can thus be one of the mediums to transform the thought-process.”
Swati Mehrotra makes footwear to match a client’s zodiac sign and horoscope. Every horoscope has its own lucky number, auspicious colour and type of wood, so she creates shoes, keeping all this in mind. “I won’t say that my shoes work like miracle as nothing of that sorts exists, but they have a positive effect on the wearer,” she clears.
Since nandi (cow) and elephants are considered auspicious, jewellery designer Muskaan Aggarwal has created ceramic cow and elephant pendants and rings. James Ferreira’s SS-13 collection features hand-paintings of lord Ganesha. Designer Puneet Nanda too drew inspiration from tarot symbols like empress, lovers, wands and chariots for his bridal collection a few moons ago. He has also done saris with Om symbol and Turkish evil eye. But he confesses that it’s just a gimmick. Puneet adds, “It surely is a trick that I have used a number of times quite successfully. In fashion anything goes as long as you execute it well. I used Om because it’s a positive visual symbol, while others like tiger’s eye make for visually pretty elements.”
Another designer Joy Mitra, whose collection was an ode to lord Krishna says, “When I design garments I hope they bring good luck to the buyers because I design with a lot of honesty, belief and positivity. Apart from that I don’t see the need to use a particular motif or image or stone to chase good luck,” he sums up.