India & US: A study in sartorial contrasts reflecting cultural identities

The most interestingly dressed person at Donald Trump’s depressing second swearing-in ceremony earlier this week was Democratic Senator John Fetterman, who attended in shorts, hoodie and sneakers, oblivious to the sub-zero temperatures that brought the event inside the Capitol for only the second time in 40 years. Sadly, it was the First Lady’s Mafiosi pork-pie hat and buttoned-up English Governess black suit that attracted all the comment. At the very least, she upstaged Fetterman in the comic relief department. As a former model, the inscrutable Melania’s attire — she certainly played to form here — has  been the subject of intense scrutiny, though in her husband’s first term she proved no match for her dynamic predecessor Michelle Obama’s sheer fashion nous. 

 

With Michelle enigmatically opting out of this second Trump inauguration, viewers were left to examine Jill Biden’s dignified purple ensemble, Ivanka Trump’s unremarkable dark green outfit and Second Lady Usha Vance’s stylish rose coloured Oscar De La Renta suit (Nancy Pelosi of the gorgeous neckpieces and Ilhan Omar with the unique headscarf we missed you!). Of the men, only Fetterman provided variety to the unrelieved sea of black and white in the Capitol and the overflow room. 

 

Yawn. If this wasn’t an event involving the world’s most powerful country, it would have been tempting to tune out. For a display of sheer colour and sartorial diversity, nothing matches Indian Parliament. To get a sense of it, watch the annual Budget session on February 1. Ignore the sonorous intonations of Finance Minister’s Nimala Sitharaman’s speech — she’ll be presenting her eighth Budget this year — and focus instead on the riot of colour and the outfits every time Doordarshan’s camera-people pan the benches. From saris to the sarong-like fabrics of the east and northeast all in a fascinating variety of weaves and textiles, from churidar-kurta teamed with silk Nehru jackets, mundus, Kullu caps, and pagdis tied every which way, India is on display in all its multicultural infinity.

 

If Melania Trump and John Fetterman chose to make (contrasting) fashion statements on January 20, it’s become a tradition for our finance minister to do so each Budget much more interestingly. Her sari choices have become as much a topic of speculation as her tax and tariff proposals. On any day, Ms Sitharaman can be relied on for her unerring good taste. Each Budget, she surpasses herself. Always avidly discussed, everyone remembers a favourite. My choice is a toss-up between the blue tussar silk sari with Kantha embroidery from West Bengal, in which she presented the interim Budget last year, and the dramatic red silk sari embroidered with Kasuti embroidery from Karnataka and black temple motif borders in which she presented Budget 2023-24.

 

Pochampalli, Bomkai, Mangalgiri, the FM’s sari choices, designed to make a statement, reflect but a smidgeon of the variety of textiles that India produces. The sartorial choices of other women MPs — Sonia Gandhi, Hema Malini, Supriya Sule, Mahua Moitra, Smriti Irani and now Priyanka Gandhi — offer an idea of the striking richness that makes the sari, mostly worn today in a style immortalised by the ladies of the Tagore household, a garment of unique variety.

 

In India, unlike the US, political fashion is not just a feminine concern. The men have plenty to say, from the mundus and headgear worn to underline regional affiliations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s distinctive half-sleeve long kurta and that famous monogrammed suit worn during a visit by President Barack Obama, which later made it to the Guinness Book of Records as the most expensive suit sold in an auction.  For some mysterious reason, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is considered a style icon among male politicos, though it’s hard to fathom why from his regulation churidar-kurta-Nehru jacket gear.

 

The US is now one of the world’s most multi-ethnic societies. Yet when it comes to sartorial choices, everybody hews to type. Both Usha Vance and Kamala Harris have been vocal about their Indian roots. It is a pity that neither had the chutzpah to highlight this at the inauguration. Even a tussar silk scarf or a Kanjeevaram stole would have added a classy touch to the conformity of the Western fashion labels they chose. Instead, it was a really bad hat that got to hog all the attention.