The art of dressing

Today, the art of dressing is multilayered and versatile. We have moved from the stiffness of English members-only clubs to the relaxed opulence of art clubs such as Soho House

Brijeshwari-nita-ambani

The year 2025 has begun with two major global historic milestones. The Mahakumbh, occurring once every 12 years, a religious festival which is the world's largest gathering in India, and the other being the marking of 80 years since the liberation of the Nazi concentration camp in Auschwitz, Poland. In a ceremony on January 27, 2025, which was declared International Holocaust Memorial Day by the United Nations, world leaders gathered in Poland along with the camp survivors.

Holocaust survivor Leon Weintraub spoke about how they were first stripped naked, then their personal belongings taken and then their heads shaved. One cannot fathom the mortifying, scarring experience as we all take being clothed, and the dignity and confidence which comes with it for granted. The stark contrast of philosophy, the Kumbh Mela where people walk unclothed voluntarily, liberated. It does eventually boil down to choice and freedom. The right to dress freely continues to be a topic of discussion given the many nations where cultural restrictions on the type of clothing permitted still prevail. While I am a great believer in the saying ‘When in Rome, do as the Romans do’, I do count the choice to be able to dress freely one of my essential liberties.

An artist uses his or her art to express, be it through colours on a canvas, with the help of the rhythm and lyrics of music or even through the movement and flow of dance. The art of dressing is a similar tool and outlet; a very powerful way of expressing oneself.

The Crown of England being a Constitutional head, it was frowned upon for Queen Elizabeth to show her likes and dislikes, express her political opinions or speak with any sort of bias. But, there was always a deeper meaning in her choice of clothes and jewellery. Her silhouette and her jewelled brooches would play the role of the messenger. Her centenary rose brooch, for example, an exquisite piece of art, designed by her and presented to the Queen Mother on her centenary birthday. With 100 diamonds framed around a delicate, hand painted rose on rock crystal, the Queen wore it for the Christmas broadcast the year her mother died. A gesture of deep love and remembrance.

Earlier this month, on Inauguration Day, Donald Trump was sworn in as the 47th US President. While all eyes were on the President, I was fixating on two women and their exemplary way of making a statement through their art of dressing. Melania Trump chose to set the tone of a mob wife at a funeral wearing an ivory blouse and black coat. Her complimenting boater hat was worn low enough that eye contact with the First Lady was almost impossible. She exuded the aura of an impregnable fortress. Her reason for choosing to dress sombre or dress in an understated manner went on to be heavily speculated and questioned. However, she did celebrate American talent and design by wearing Adam Lippes.

Similarly, Nita Ambani celebrated Indian craftsmanship during the dinner prior to Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony. Her silk Kanchipuram saree, designed by National awardee B. Krishnamoorthy, celebrates Indian culture, history and mythology. The hundred motifs chosen after careful detailing, include the double headed eagle, a symbol for Lord Vishnu also known as Iruthalaipakshi. She paired it with an antique piece of jewellery, a parakeet-shaped pendant adorned with varied stones and set in gold. The parakeet is a popular, recurring motif in Indian craftsmanship, a symbol of love and good luck. This ensemble was a powerful message, on the superiority of Indian art and craftsmanship, which dates hundreds of years, a soft power of the nation.

Paintings are an exemplary medium to study and understand the way the art of dressing has evolved over centuries. In an essay on The Philosophy of Dress, Oscar Wilde states that while fashion is ephemeral, art is eternal. In ancient civilisations, clothing was used as a way to signify which social strata a person was from. Art also sheds light on the fabrics introduced in a particular culture with the help of thriving trade routes and networks.

Artists such as John Singer Sargent would encapsulate this in his works of art. The American artist, known for his portraits of people dressed immaculately, would style his sitters in a way where the clothes they adorned and the way in which he styled them, would express their identity and personality. Last year, an exhibition at Tate Britain in England showcases how Sargent manipulated his subjects' clothes to bring out their personality.

In 2012, Hajo Adam and Adam D. Galinksky performed an experiment hypothesising that clothing impacts the wearer's physiological processes. After three rigorous experiments, they coined the term ‘enclothed cognition’, suggesting that clothing deeply influences an individual.

Today, the art of dressing is multilayered and versatile. We have moved from the stiffness of English members-only clubs to the relaxed opulence of art clubs such as Soho House. In India, we live amongst a diverse population where a faction of society is luxury brand conscious, another is now environmentally sustainable condoning fast fashion brands. Where time and effort is spent on dressing and making a statement but also where it is perfectly acceptable to waltz in looking like a ragamuffin. Perhaps that too is a statement.

Just as a picture speaks a thousand words, the outfit too can be a communicative conduit.