The culture of Krishna is coming to America, with or without the devotees, whose only choice is to remain relevant or not. Don’t believe me? See the following:
At the finale of the Armani men’s wear presentation in Milan 10 days ago, the lights in the theater suddenly went dark. When they flashed on again, the runway was filled with models striking poses in the Indian-inspired dhotis, band-collared jackets and vivid silks that were a major theme of the collection. Out went the lights again as the models hustled to get into yoga poses on the floor. When the illumination returned, all the pretties were facing the head of the runway, where Giorgio Armani was bathed in a pool of light, arms raised as if he were a fashion guru.
Mr. Armani may as well have been chanting a mantra on the lips of many in the fashion business lately. Not as euphonious as om shanti shanti, the words “IndiaEmergingMarket,” run together, seem destined to produce inner bliss in the minds of designers seeking new brand frontiers.
Although no one seems able to gauge the size of India’s prospering classes (the most common figures assert that India’s middle class numbers 200 million — a number that the writer Shashi Tharoor, among others, derides as being predicated on ownership of a bike), there is no arguing with the country’s 9 percent annual growth rate.
In cities like Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and New Delhi, malls are being built almost faster than call centers and IT campuses. What is significant about this is that until now, Western luxury brands were restricted to selling their goods in stores in the lobbies of high-end hotels. All that will change next month when the five-story 320,000-square-foot Emporio mall opens in an upscale residential neighborhood of South Delhi.
Like shopping destinations everywhere, the Emporio mall will feature the requisite spa and Nobu-style Japanese restaurant. It will also have 34 Indian designers among its tenants. More important, it will offer brands like Vuitton, Dior, Fendi, Cartier, Paul Smith and others that have been slow to break into the lucrative South Asian market. And it will have Armani’s first Indian store.
“We obviously see India as an important emerging market of the future,” said Robert Triefus, Armani’s executive vice president for global communications. Armani will add stores in Mumbai and Bangalore within the year, Mr. Triefus said, exporting chic silk shantung dhotis to the land of Gandhi and hand-loomed khadi cloth.
July 6, 2008 at 5:53 pm
This article offers proof that Indian culture is becoming more and more influential around the world. I realize that within the ISKCON context Indian culture equals Vaishava (Krishna) culture and that the two are often merged and confused.
Participating in Indian culture does not automatically make one Krishna Conscious, though over the years many in ISKCON have judged their advancement upon their ability to adopt an Indian lifestyle.
Those visionaries who recognize and understand the difference (like your good self) could use these kinds of articles as an opportunity to help others better distinguish between the two. :)
July 7, 2008 at 9:19 am
True.
Fashion is cultural and we need to know the difference between culture, religion, and spirituality.
Spirituality influences religion, and religion influences culture.
Dhotis are not spiritual, they are cultural.