 MARCH 31 - Slipping bustiers and busted zippers on the catwalk are
lending spice to a top fashion show in Mumbai, a conservative
country where the slightest hint of sexuality can titillate.
Clothes coming undone on the ramp are nothing new to the fashion
world, but in India the slip-ups have sent newspaper editors and TV
producers into a feeding frenzy.
The Lakme Fashion Week -- attended by top buyers such as Browns, H&M
and Saks Fifth Avenue -- began in Mumbai earlier this week with a
skimpy creation worn by a leading model slipping down around her
waist, exposing her lithe torso.
Model Carol Gracias, showing off the top designed by India’s Bennu
Sehgal, quickly pulled up the gold-and-green embroidered bustier and
maintained a stony pout. But not before cameras had recorded the
embarrassing moment.
TV channels repeatedly broadcast the footage, blurring out the
model’s breasts, while newspapers published reports with photographs
of the model during her moment of distress.
On Thursday, a former Miss India, Gauhar Khan, faced a similar
show-stopping moment as the zipper of a flowing black skirt split,
exposing her bottom.
 Several other top models struggled to keep their clothes in place at
the show that ends on Saturday.
Many in the crowd caught the embarrassing moments using cameras in
their mobile phones, and at least one multimedia message clip of
Gracias’ “wardrobe malfunction” is doing the rounds.
“This is shameful and totally condemnable,” said leading Indian
model Dipannita Sharma. “It has happened to Carol, it could have
happened to any one of us. It shows Indians have not matured.”
Industry officials reacted with anger at what they called the
media’s immaturity. “It is a reflection of how titillated we get
with even the remotest hint of sexuality,” said Indian fashion
writer Hindol Sengupta.
Such reactions aren’t confined to India. Millions in the United
States reacted with fury during the 2004 Super Bowl when singer
Janet Jackson revealed her right breast during the half-time show.
Her spokesman described the incident as a malfunction of the
wardrobe. (Reuters) |
