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Shame Priyanka Chopra can't wear what she wants. Not even to a wedding

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Poulomi Ghosh
Poulomi GhoshMay 22, 2018 | 17:16

Shame Priyanka Chopra can't wear what she wants. Not even to a wedding

She attended the ceremony as a friend of Meghan Markle.

Bollywood actor (and now Hollywood celeb) Priyanka Chopra might have impressed the international media with her sartorial choices at the royal wedding, but it’s not been easy to impress the folks back home. Once trolled for exposing her legs in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Priyanka has now come under attack for covering herself in a purple Vivienne Westwood dress suit, teamed with a purple fascinator, both of which reflected nothing Indian.

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From criticising her for "missing Indian culture" to concluding that the Quantico actor was looking horrible in the western outfit, the dress-shaming veered towards personal attacks, with Indians back home observing how Priyanka has been shamelessly “overplaying” her friendship card with Meghan Markle.

What sets these attacks apart from everyday social media trolling is the fact that experts associated with the textile and fashion industries have engaged in slamming the actress.

Some of the points raised by them are valid - but singling out Priyanka Chopra, and dress-policing her is neither fair, nor logical.

The debate started when former Samata Party president and textile revivalist Jaya Jaitly expressed her disappointment over Priyanka Chopra not opting for a beautiful sari. Also, the actress was sternly reminded by the fashion police that as Assam’s ambassador, she had a wide array of saris to choose from.

Who are we to decide what Priyanka Chopra should wear?

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The purple Vivienne Westwood dress suit and the purple fascinator didn't go down well with many.

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The royal wedding, which has been hailed as the harbinger of a new era for doing away with many traditions, had a dress code. The dress code on the royal invitation requested a “morning suit or lounge suit” for men, and a “day dress with hat” for women.

Priyanka Chopra’s fashion quotient — she was styled by Mimi Cutrell and wore a Philip Treacy hat — was on point. 

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Priyanka attended the wedding as Meghan's friend.

Why a dress code?

The issue of a dress code launched a larger debate on social media as many people felt that she should not have attended the wedding, if the royals did not allow Indian outfits. Talking to IANS, Jaya Jaitly said, “When somebody in a village in India says ‘sar dhako (cover your head)’, we don’t want that… when somebody says, ‘Don’t wear jeans in college’, we say ‘Who are you to tell us a dress code?’ But if the Queen in England descends (sic) an invitation and say you got to wear a hat, which is not part of your culture, you will start saying there was a dress code.”

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Time to remember that Priyanka Chopra has the freedom to choose the occasions she wants to attend and not. No one, in this case, forced her to attend the event. Unlike a college dress code, she had the freedom to not attend the wedding, or to not conform to the dress code and still attend the wedding.

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Her Dior gown, however, escaped policing. 

Priyanka attended the wedding in her personal capacity

Also, the actor did not claim to be representing India at the royal wedding. She attended the ceremony as a friend of Meghan Markle. The duo had met at a dinner celebrating women in television in 2016.

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But, Meghan can wear a sari when in India. (Instagram photo: @mynamahila)

Short-shrift to Indian weavers

Jaya Jaitly, who is the founder and president of the Dastkari Haat Samiti, has a point when she says that local weavers and textiles remain overlooked as celebrities choose bigger labels. But that is applicable to mostly all showbiz events, including the Bollywood ones. Also, actors should be blamed in equal measure.

Choosing one single occasion and one individual to launch a larger debate on how local weavers are being ignored will not better the weavers' situation, or bring them more opportunities. 

And the sari was there!

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Why can't they be the representatives of Indian culture? (Instagram photo: @mynamahila)

If the uproar is all about the sari, and therefore, Indian culture, activist Suhani Jalota, founder of the Myna Mahila Foundation and her colleagues — Archana Ambre, Deborah Das and Imogen Mansfield — attended the wedding, clad in saris. All of them wore saris designed by the Indian brand Raw Mango, run by designer Sanjay Garg.

Representing the Mumbai-based foundation, which has been working towards women's empowerment, these women chose not to abide by the dress code and to represent Indian culture.

Jalota's NGO was the only non-UK foundation chosen by the royal couple, who had announced that anyone wishing to gift them on their special day could instead make a donation to these charities invited to their wedding.

Now, isn't that a proud moment for Indians?

If these strong women cannot effectively represent 'Indian culture' at an international platform, and only a celebrity has to uphold Indian culture wherever she goes, it is very worrying for our culture itself.

 

Last updated: May 22, 2018 | 18:49
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