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Orient Express

How to master the fine art of Chinoiserie...

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The word ‘Chinoiserie’ is derived from the French word Chinois, meaning Chinese. It is the European interpretation and imitation of Chinese and East Asian artistic traditions, especially in design. After the Met Museum’s celebration of Eastern influence  last year, it translated to the catwalks and more recently to the red carpet. While Spring Summer 2017 runways were awash with the Chinese motifs and embroideries seen at Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton, coming Spring Summer 2017 too seems high on the Oriental trend with the likes of Prada and Alessandra Rich presenting Mandarin-inspired looks. Recently Alexa Chung was seen rocking a look from Alessandra Rich and Sienna Miller dazzled the red carpet in a fresh-off-the-runway look from Prada SS17. We speak to designers on how to nail this trend...

Resonates elegance 

For designer Nikhil Thampi chinoiserie resonates intricacy and elegance. “My absolute favourites in this particular style would be a classic mandarin collared shirt, kurtas and sari blouses with the delicate floral chinoiserie. I also think using the chinoiserie motifs on the pocket square or the lapel pin of a blazer is an interesting idea for men to incorporate this into their style. Using the motifs on oriental fabrics like silk or brocade would work wonderfully and would stand out as unconventional.”

However, he cautions that wearing the style as is, without personalising, it should definitely be avoided. “Instead try picking up hints of the style and incorporating it in your personal dressing sense. If your style is more rock, opt for a chinoiserie hairbands, belts or include the flowers on a scarf. You could wear the classic mandarin collar as a white shirt to play up the classic white shirt — blue jeans look. Floor-length gowns and dresses with the chinoiserie print are the traditional and most common way to use the style,” he adds. 

Designer Amy Billimoria suggests clean straight silhouettes, accessorised to the minimal and teamed with interesting footwear. “Choose a monochrome palette or ferns and lemons. Stay away from too many feathers if you don’t have the height to carry it off. Whilst mandarin collars and Chinese inspired embroideries can be incorporated on Indian classic silhouettes like anarkalis and bandhgalas, one could also create a fusion look by using them on saris with placement motifs,” says Amy. 

She suggests accessories inspired by Chinese motifs and froggings can be worn with classic pencil dresses too.

How can men nail it 

Designer Paresh Lamba says, “I personally love the elegance and stateliness of the motifs and I strongly believe it is having a huge impact right now on the way men are dressing. A printed jacket over denims or a pair of printed trousers with a plain jacket are two semi — formal ways of dressing for occasions. If you’re a man of a fairly large built, large motifs might not suit you, instead start small with the print on your pocket square or a delicately printed shirt. A smaller, slimmer built would be ideal to carry off a more extravagant form of the trend. Avoid following the concept blindly, instead take note of your lifestyle, your profession, the kind of places you visit and appropriately include the style in your wardrobe.”

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