Corsets Are ‘Gripping’ Desi Fashion by the Kamar – Matlab Kyun?

Yes, as a sucker for detail, you may dig that handcrafted corset belt. But don’t get tempted yet, dear reader.

Are corsets condescending to our kamars? Let’s find out 

(Photo: The Quint/Saumya Saumi Pankaj)

Flab around the kamar is good. It is human. And it is asliyat for most of us. So, why then, must we hide it behind archaic Victorian corsets?

Jet, Set, Corset

Ladies, we’ve been seeing a lot of corsets this year on desi runways and on our style devis — the celebs.

While designer Masaba Gupta brought out the corset sari at the Lakme Fashion Week 2017, SVA by Sonam and Paras Modi gave us handcrafted corset belts.

A desi corset sari by Masaba Gupta.

An SVA by Sonam and Paras Modi ensemble with handcrafted corset belt

Sonam Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Parineeti Chopra, and all kinds of stars too have donned the corset recently.

Them other Kapoor sisters (Khushi-Jhanvi) – arrey wahi celebrity kids who we love to pap while simultaneously running stories on Kangana’s badass nepotism remarks – have also been seen wearing them.

Was feeling lazy thinking of a witty caption, writing Khushi Kapoor ‘rocking’ a corset instead. 

Sorry guys, I know Khushi Kapoor is just a 16-year-old but she is a ‘style icon’ nonetheless 

Jhanvi Kapoor approved style hai yeh, wearing dresses with corset belts. 

To sweeten the patriarchy-infested trend, we have also seen flowery corsets by Ritu Kumar, duly glamourised by Disha Patani.

Flowery corsets look cute, but are they to be trusted?

Yes, as a sucker for detail, you may dig Esha Gupta’s corset belt. But don’t get tempted yet, dear reader.

Esha Gupta wearing a dress with a corset belt 

Corset belt by Doodlage 

Corset belt by Hemant and Nandita 

Okay guys, let me tell you what the real problem here is. Corsets may look kick-ass right now, but historically they’ve been used to restrict our kamars to appear appealing to the male gaze. Because god forbid if you reveal them tyres, right? How he will brutally dump you — oh the horror!

These male magnets also caused severe breathing problems for women who had to wear them for hours.

Is the Kamar-aderie Needed?

But wait, all the corsets being reintroduced don’t entirely massacre your waists.

When Miuccia Prada, who is the amma of feminist fashion and a powerful, badass woman, presented corsets in her fall 2016 show, she didn’t make them restrictive.

She presented loose corset belts worn with sexy, gender bending military jackets which were called subversive by many. But it does seem to give in thoda sa to conform to deathly feminine body standards, right?

Military jackets ke saath sab sexy lagta hai

Corset belts from the Prada Autumn/Winter 2016 woman collection during the Milan Fashion Week in February 2016.  

Corset belts from the Prada Autumn/Winter 2016 woman collection during the Milan Fashion Week in February 2016.  

Chalo, the comforting thing is that these contemporary versions of corsets are (in most cases) not the godforsaken whalebone stuff women in Victorian times used to wear.

My intention here is not to shame the corset wearer — in no way do I want to challenge the freedom of a woman to wear what she wants.

But I feel that an item of clothing that urges women to get in the “36-24-36” dimension is sort of demeaning. Especially at a time when we are moving towards gender neutral and anti-fit fashion.

So my dearies, here’s the thing: Corsets are condescending to our kamars. Why don't we leave them forever in the Victorian era? Matlab, this is 2017, let a woman breathe.

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