Summary:
1. news
2. setting fashion in La Reunion
3. *** choose a logo ***
4. permanent address
5. getting married in a sari
6. best wishes for the holiday season!
7. reaching out...
8. better late than never: a little note on Gandhi
9. a personal note from Chantal
1. News:
*** The exhibition "The
Indian Sari, Draping Bodies, Revealing Lives" at the "Hall
de Region" in St Denis, La Reunion (near Mauritius) was a
HUGE success. It was so successful that we might do it again next
year!
Read story 2: Setting fashion in La Reunion.
If you want to see some pictures (the text is in French), look
at:
http://www.shakti.clara.net/expo/
*** In the latest Threads Magazine,(nov/dec 99) there was a
wonderful article on how to drape a Greek Chiton. The photos were
excellent and the text most enlightening. Seems as tho they are
the latest "thing" to hit the fashion world. I can hardly
wait to try one. They look infinitely COMFORTABLE! Hurray for
draped clothes!!. (from Lizzy Perkins through Nilima Shankar)
*** If you know or participate in an event, web site, etc. connected
with draping, please let us know. This "news" feature
is yours!
2. Setting fashion in La Reunion:
Not only was the exhibition in
La Reunion a hit, but the draping workshops were overwhelmingly
successful ! Many inhabitants of La Reunion are of Tamil origin,
but gave up wearing saris altogether at the beginning of the century.
Recently some women started wearing the most common modern drape,
but they had no clue as how to tie Tamil styles. Needless to say,
they were very keen to learn. But they were also keen to wear
all kinds of drapes. The sari shop "Nataraj" (which
is in both towns St. Denis and St. Pierre and was a sponsor of
the exhibition) now drapes its window mannequins with several
different styles (women's dhotis are a huge hit): through them,
the exhibition goes on!
More importantly, some Muslim women (who, by the way, were of North Indian origin) fell in love with the Tamil Muslim sari (on the right). It can be very practical yet covers the whole body when needed. They swore to wear it on Fridays! This extremely rare drape, worn by a few old women in Tamil Nadu, may get a new lease of life!
It was a very rewarding experience, many sari drapes being adopted by new women, some with an ethnic link to these drapes, and some starting a brand new fashion!
3. *** choose a logo ***
Artist Samantha Goh of Hong Kong was inspired by IDC and has sent us 2 beautiful logos. The logos design's concept derived from the flowing characteristic of the cloth. Please have a look at them at:
Artist Samantha Goh was inspired by IDC and has sent us 2 beautiful logos. The logos design's concept derived from the flowing characteristic of the cloth.
Logo 1: (by Samantha Goh)
Logo 2: (by Samantha Goh)
***Let us know which one you prefer.***
If you wish to design one yourself, please hurry. Send it in JPEG and it will be added to that page. We have to decide on a logo asap. Thank you.
4. Permanent address:
We now have a permanent address, at which I will start the
proceedings to register as a non-profit organisation or charity.
Please take a note of it:
IDC - Bridge House
78 Hammersmith Bridge Road
London W6 9DB
Great Britain
(if you are REALLY curious, you can have a look at the house
at:
http://www.shakti.clara.net/pers.html
)
5. Getting married in a sari
Cecile Angebault, a French woman from Tours, got married this summer wearing a sari (both she and her husband are French). She had taken some lessons from Chantal (whose mother happens to also live in Tours), and here is what she says:
"I can assure you that the sari and its drape made their impact and were marvellous. On top of everything, it held perfectly well, without any pin at the waist level, and through the reckless rock dancing or when I was whirled all over the place, carried by all the guests!"
I was glad to hear that Cecile whirled and rocked in a sari! What better proof that saris are easy to live with (and get married into)!
6. Best wishes for the holiday season!
IDC and Chantal are wishing you all a very happy holiday season!
May your wishes come true in the new Millennium!
And for that smashing New Millennium
dress: drape it!
(and send us the pics in JPEG... so we could do a "New Year
celebration" page.)
The next newsletter will come out early January.
7. Reaching out...
I have had a lot of help and encouragement from people who
were not officially members of IDC. I hope that you all will become
members of IDC.
The more people we are, the more weight IDC carries and the easier
it is to promote draped clothes. Membership is free and very easy.
Check: http://www.shakti.clara.net/IDC/member.html
Institutions or businesses can also become members, when supporting our goals. The first institution to become member of IDC is "Association Reunion-Inde", which organised the exhibition in La Reunion.
If you know of an institution, a university, a museum, a business, etc. that would be interested in helping our cause, please ask them to become members of IDC. If they have a logo, we will put it on a special web page on our web site.
8. Better late than never: a little note on Gandhi
This was sent on Oct 2 by C Kumarabharathy:
"Today (October 2) is Gandhi Jayanti day. He took draped style to highest forum and challenged the strait jacket mindset. He is IDC forerunner."
9. A personal note from Chantal:
It was 2 busy months! The success of the exhibition was really overwhelming. And moving into my new house has taken its toll!
Please do not hesitate to send me your experience, thoughts, etc. on draping for this newsletter!
I hope that the new millennium will see the rise of IDC and that fashion will turn an eye to draped clothes. Thank you for your support and help.
Best wishes!
Chantal
Please do not hesitate to send any question, suggestion, criticism.
If you have some links to suggest, please let us know!
If you wish to write something for the newsletter, please do so
and Email it to <IDC@devi.net>.