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Rabari Woman, Rajasthan, India

http://egiuliani.wordpress.com/

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The Golden Temple (Harmandir Sahib) after Maharajah Ranjit Singh’s major restoration, Amritsar (India), c. 1840.  Source: I See No Stranger: The Sikh Arts Virtual Museum Project.

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Basilica di San Marco   

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I was recently having a conversation with a close friend, and she told me about this really heated discussion she had with her grandfather one day, during the course of which he told her how women of his generation, during their young days, had so much more style and elegance than the women of today. He also went on to say how everybody nowadays looks “mass manufactured” and lack grace and individuality. She of course immediately took offence to this statement, and knowing her, playfully gave him an earful for saying this. But later, when she did repeat this episode to me, she admitted, that it did make sense to her what he was trying to say. He was merely trying to point out the lack of uniqueness in the style of women today. Everyone wears the same things, in the same way. There’s no different characteristic to it. I of course, immediately understood the point he was trying to put across as I’ve had similiar conversations with people in the past.

It always breaks my heart to see the lack of imagination when it comes to style. Every second girl I see on the streets is in a pair of jeans and a top. It’s become boring in the attempt to make it “causal”. One can only wear what’s available to buy, yes. But that said, one can always find unique ways of fusing things and create an individual style. Like her grandfather said, not everyone has to look “mass manufactured”. No matter how much you hate “dressing up”, or claim to be somebody who is “not defined by the clothes he/she wears”, the fact remains that when you head out, you are going to put some clothes on you, so why not make it interesting to look at? Why not look at it as a medium of self-expression? Because everything said,  being visual beings, the first thing anyone notices, and the first thing that non-verbally makes an impression is always what you’re wearing.

My rantings aside, coming back to this post, I collaborated with a Pakistani photographer, Mehlum Sadriwala for this shoot. Mehlum is my first friend from across the border, and hails from Karachi. In retrospect I realize, Mehlum and I were more excited about this Mumbai-Karachi collaboration more than the actual shoot, because India-Pakistan is always such a sensationalised subject! Haha. Also, it me realize how redundant this whole animosity situation between our two countries is, because it was absolutely beautiful meeting Mehlum. And it never made a difference, the fact that he was Pakistani.

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White sunset The weather in Bombay(I still prefer to call it that) has been unexpectedly charming since yesterday morning. The drizzly sky, coupled with cold breeze has made the temperature plummet so quick, the city suddenly feels so much lovelier!  No more heat and harsh sun(at least for the moment.) Absolutely in love with the weather today!

I’ve been wanting to do something with white fabric and silver oxidised jewellery for a while now, it being such a classic combination. Even though Indian textiles are known for being colourful, my wardrobe is still dominated by blacks and whites. I personally feel oxidised jewellery looks good with almost everything. These photographs are clicked by a friend of mine, Abhishek Verma. Abhishek and I went to the Versova beach one evening hoping to get a good picturesque location, but instead ended on wondering which angles we could click to avoid the dirt and grime on the beach(Welcome to Bombay!) Thankfully for us, we did manage to get some good shots, :)

P.S. If any of you guys want to collaborate, shoot me a mail at thescarletwindow@gmail.com or drop in a message on tumblr. I’m absolutely free for a couple of weeks, and would love to create exciting new stuff. :)

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Traditional caucasian costume, Dagestan. 19th century. Ethnic silver jewelry.

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Avar woman (Caucasus), wedding traditional costume. Ethnic groups living in the Russian republic of Dagestan, village Rugudja, tribal caucasian rug,  silver jewelry.

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Handicrafts woman embroiders traditional textile, Pakistan.

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Cover, silk embroidery on cotton. Iran, Caucasus, 1st half of 18th century, 149 × 135 cm. The David Collection, Denmark.

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Brahma. Punjabi depiction from about 1700.

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Persian ‘zodiac’ rug, probably Kerman area, south west Persia, early 20th century, 6ft. 7in. X 4ft. 4in. 2.01m. X 1.32m.

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Drawing on a stock of more than 6,000 colors of thread, a nun repairs a tapestry designed by Raphael, in which Peter receives the keys to the church from Christ.

—From the National Geographic book Inside the Vatican, 1991

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Faig Ahmed

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Silver by the brook

Since my early teens I’ve always had a fascination towards the Rajasthani culture. The arid, dry landscape, punctuated with forts and palaces, stories of kingdoms and wars, always made it one of the most intriguing places in India for me. The traditional ensembles of the state, too, are equally fascinating. The women wear heavy silver oxidized jewellery, and lovely, elaborate ghaghra cholis, the vibrant hues of which stand out in stark contrast against the dry, plain backdrop.

I was in Jaipur a couple of years back, and picked up this bright pink skirt while scouting the local handicraft and handloom market. I’ve teamed it up with a top from H&M here, and accessorized the look with a delicate version of the oxidized silver ornaments, to tone it down a little and create a more fun, wearable look.

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The Art of Indianism

I was skimming through a few of my mother’s old cotton sarees recently, pieces she’s picked up from different parts of the country over a span of almost 20 years.

I was excitedly gushing over how pretty and unique they were, and that was when it struck me that we hardly see girls/women our generation in these gorgeous traditional ensembles anymore.

We’ve been so strongly influenced by the Zara, Forever21, Mango, etc wave that’s hit our country, that we’ve almost lost our own ethnic style somewhere in that chaos.

 I’m not a fashion extremist. I personally love these brands that I just mentioned. But I also love the gorgeous traditional styles we’ve had around us for centuries. So many colours, such vibrant gorgeous prints, and breathtaking jewellery!

 I immediately feverishly started googling Indian fashion blogs to see if there were bloggers who’d made an attempt to incorporate any ethnic elements into the looks they blog about. Unfortunately, I found no one.

 The Scarlet Window, was hence conceived out of an eager desire to revive our native styles, and fuse it with the new-age trends to created wearable, contemporary Indian looks.

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Cool artwork about a Soviet soldier in a destroyed church or monastery.

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Satan Watching the Angels Ascend Into Heaven  John Martin

mezzotint from Paradise Lost