Luxury Indian Fashion A Social Critique

by Kuldova, Tereza; Miller, Daniel; Gilroy, Paul

• ISBN13: 9781474220927
• ISBN10: 1474220924
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-03-24
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic

Summary

This unique ethnographic investigation examines the role that fashion plays in the production of the contemporary Indian luxury aesthetic. Tracking luxury Indian fashion from its production in village craft workshops via upmarket design studios to fashion soirées, Kuldova investigates the Indian luxury fashion market's dependence on the production of thousands of artisans all over India, revealing a complex system of hierarchies and exploitation.

In recent years, contemporary Indian design has dismissed the influence of the West and has focused on the opulent heritage luxury of the maharajas, Gulf monarchies and the Mughal Empire. Luxury Indian Fashion argues that the desire for a luxury aesthetic has become a significant force in the attempt to define contemporary Indian society. From the cultivation of erotic capital in businesswomen's dress to a discussion of masculinity and muscular neo-royals to staged designer funerals, Luxury Indian Fashion analyzes the production, consumption and aesthetics of luxury and power in India.

Luxury Indian Fashion is essential reading for students of fashion history and theory, anthropology and visual culture.

Author Biography

Tereza Kuldova is Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Museum of Cultural History, University of Oslo, Norway.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Neo-Feudal Ornamentalism and Elitist Fantasies
2. Producing Cosmopolitanism, Hierarchy and Social Cohesion
3. Design Genius and his Ghost Others
4. Charitable Non-Love and Philanthrocapitalism
5. Insubordinations of the Laughing Craftswoman
6. Erotic Capital and Benevolence of Vampish Goddesses
7. Fashion, Whisky and Muscular 'Neo-Royals'
Conclusion
Glossary
Bibliography
Index