Fashion wraps: Coming out of the closet

Be it a hobby or a passion, finding one's own identity to stand out in the crowd has become crucial to finding one's individuality. Fashion connoisseurs also emphasise the need to look unique. Fast fashion can interfere with the idea of exclusivity. International apparel brands and retail groups are fast churning out designs, and with rising middle class income, customers are buying apparel brands that were once considered a treat for the rich. This is forcing exclusivity out. Individuality and exclusivity are tough to attain in today's ever-changing dynamic market. The shirt you bought, believing it to be exclusive, might be on a display in countless stores and worn by multiple people at the same time. From accessories, with love As people begin to care more and more about appearance and exclusivity, the world of fashion has become one of the most evolving fields. Designers are not designing for a particular market anymore. What's popular in the US or Europe is popular in Asia and vice versa. With the globalisation of fashion, apparel brands are designing clothes so that a new design is not constrained to a particular culture, region or society. Accessories have played a major part in imparting a novel identity to apparel brands. Consequently, brands that were wary of dabbling in any segment other than clothing are now enthusiastically launching apparel accessories to charm customers. The task at hand for the contemporary apparel industry is to embrace everything that involves fashion. Wrapping the world While uniformity is not a flaw, wearing similar clothes at the same event can leave one red-faced. If only one of them had thought of accessorising! At a time when cultural designs are freely crossing borders, the apparel world has become more open to experiments. The biggest testimonies to this cultural cross-culture are the dupatta, stole and scarf. Carving out their own pathway, these accessories have emerged as fashion must-haves across the world. Traditionally worn by women in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and in other nations in the region, these long scarves have successfully found a place in everyone's closet.