Indian clothing has always been part of T&T culture, but today's Divali female celebrants are not wearing the same saris their grandmothers did. Thanks to the influence of Bollywood, the modern-day shalwar shopper may look for a little more sparkle and glitter on her satin design. Imran Mohammed-Yusef has seen them all and designed them too.
Owner of Bold and Beautiful, an Indian clothing design and manufacture company based in Mumbai, Mohammed-Yusef has been involved with the design and manufacture of hand-made Indian wear for 18 years, learning the business from his father, who also learned from his father.
There was never any question in Mohammed-Yusef's mind that he wanted to go into the family business. "This was always what I wanted to do because I love the clothes. From childhood I just wanted to do something special with them."
Mohammed-Yusef has expanded his company's exports as far as New Zealand, Mauritius, South Africa and Suriname where there is always a huge demand for Indian wear. At his booth at the Pride of India–Divali Mela expo, Mohammed-Yusef showed me some of the most popular sellers here in Trinidad. For instance, a beautiful, gem-encrusted cream satin sari, fit only for a bride.
"We use pure satin cloth from India," Mohammed-Yusef said. "And many of our wedding dresses can be used both as saris and as a Christian-type wedding gown." Instead of falling straight down as a traditional sari does, Mohammed-Yusef's specialty wedding sari is stiffened with tulle underneath, and has a very small train.
It's also covered with Swarovski crystals, as are many of Mohammed-Yusef's one-of-a-kind saris. The crystals make them more expensive, he said, but once you buy one of these, no one else will have a dress like yours.
"These are custom-made."Mohammed-Yusef is intimately involved with the design of the entire line.
And while he doesn't sketch designs himself, he relates his vision to a team of designers who then turn drawings into actual outfits. Brides tend to want saris, ghagra cholis and shalwars like they see in Bollywood movies. Designs are therefore inspired by those demands and the latest Bollywood trends.
"From the movie Jodhaa Akbar came the anarkali dress style that is very popular now, worn by Aishwarya Rai," he added. The anarkali is a type of shalwar where the tunic flares out from the waist instead of falling straight down over the hips and legs.
Local women also want convenience, so they are choosing ready-made saris, that they could wrap around their waists and fasten with a hidden button, over traditional saris that require some skill to wrap and pleat correctly at the waist.
When it comes to Indian wedding wear, the men don't get left out. Rich brocade sherwanis draw the eye almost immediately. Since many modern grooms and bridal party members prefer not to wear the traditional drawstring pants that usually completes a male bridal outfit, Bold and Beautiful has begun to make modern dress pants with a waist band. One sherwani even had a built-in cravat above the neckline!
"In our designs we blend eastern and western styles. These are what we call Indo-Western outfits. Anybody can wear them, they are not constricted to a religion," Mohammed-Yusef said. Both Hindu and Muslim brides and grooms wear these gloriously decorated outfits to celebrate their big day.
Shalwars and saris for the wedding party and guests are typically more expensive (they can cost anything from TT$3000 upwards) and usually come in red, burgundy, cream and yellow. Indian brides traditionally wear red during the ceremonial party of the wedding, yellow during the mehndi ceremony (almost like an Indian bridal shower where the bride's hands and feet are decorated with henna) and cream saris are worn as reception wear.
Bright yellow is particularly in demand here in Trinidad when it comes to saris, Mohammed-Yusef said.But the types of fabric used are interchangeable; Mohammed-Yusef sources pure satins, chiffons, crepes and cotton in the Indian textile market and uses them for bridal wear as well as for formal wear or even casual clothes.
"Shalwars are what women in India wear like jeans," Mohammed-Yusef explained. And usually, a complete outfit needs accessory compliments. Traditional bridal bangles or 'chooda' signify that the bride should be treated like a princess and are very popular. Others also buy elaborate earrings, finger rings, a necklace, hand-beaded evening bags and a headband to match their outfits, he added.
"And if they're wearing saris, we try to help them out with arm bands and matching slippers. It is my dream that we will put all the westernised styles in Indian clothing so that everyone will love to wear it," he laughed.