Umbara Designs- clothing- be spoken!

  The inspiration for young women is largely the fashion industry, one does see models on the ramps and actresses at social dos dressed in what may be considered outrageous garments. For impressionable teenagers and young women, clothing is a critical element of self-expression and independence - they do not see anything wrong in ‘wearing what they want’. This is despite the all prevalent male gaze, which research and personal experience shows is quite different form the female gaze. Advertising has numerous examples of the male gaze: the elegant outline of a car’s form is compared to the curves of a woman. (I have elaborated the point here .) The ‘Me-too’ movement threw up narratives of women being at the receiving end of inappropriate behaviour. The oft-cited excuses have been the ‘provocative’ garb of women. In contrast to the ‘body objectivising’ that happens when a man is in the picture, is the sheer body positivity that young women feel, which springs from within. There...

      Decoding Fashion Psychology             There has been a buzz recently on social media about   fashion psychology. Having spent a good part of the five  decades of my life in this industry, I am asked very  often about my views on this. I decided to do a series  of videos that you can find on  YouTube: THE SCIENCE OF FASHION PSYCHOLOGY and WHAT IS FASHION PSYCHOLOGY with more coming up. In case you are more comfortable with that medium!  Else, stay on, read and reflect.    Let us get definitions out of the way.  The word ‘fashion’ implies styling, the way one chooses  and wears clothing (primarily) to make a statement  about oneself.  Psychology is the science of emotions.  Though most people cannot articulate it, psychology is  reflected in personal fashion. Take, for example, a  teenage boy whose ‘go to’ outfit is a black hoodie.  In choosing this p...