NEW DELHI: Exchanges with the Middle East have influenced many aspects of Indian culture, including fashion, with contemporary designers still drawing inspiration from the sartorial links established centuries ago.
An integral part of men’s and women’s fashion in the Indian subcontinent is the shalwar – loose-fitting, pleated trousers – and a tunic known as the kameez.
Considered by many as traditional and everyday dress, this outfit traces its origins to the Middle Eastern influence brought to India by the Mughals, who ruled the region between the 16th and 19th centuries.
With their ancestral domains in Central Asia, the Mughals, a Muslim dynasty, carried cultural elements borrowed from the Arabs, Persians, and Ottomans, which were later accepted, adapted, and further developed by the Indians.
The style of shalwar commonly worn in India – with narrow ankles or ankle cuffs – is similar to the traditional style of women’s trousers known in Arabic as sarwal, worn in many regions of the Gulf countries .
The kameez, too, resembles the dishdasha, a long-sleeved ankle-length dress worn by both men and women in the Arabian Peninsula.
There is also the Indian scarf, or dupatta, which completes trouser and tunic sets and which is also used by women in some parts of the country as a veil to cover their faces.
“With the Mughals came some basic daily wear like the salwar, kameez and dupatta,” said Debanjana Paul, a fashion designer based in New Delhi.
“And the cultural base of the Mughals is in the Middle East, Turkey and the Arab world.”
But before the Mughals, the Indian subcontinent’s exchange with the Middle East was already established through trade along the Silk Road, where apart from the main commodity – spices – other goods such as cloth also traveled.
One of the favorite fabrics in India is muslin, a fabric so light that poets of the subcontinent have described it as “woven air”.
The production of delicate fabrics was concentrated in the subcontinent for centuries, but the fabric did not originate there. As its name suggests, it is from the city of Mosul in Iraq, where it was first produced in the Middle Ages.
Paul, who used to work for an Indian brand in the UAE, told Arab News that some of the floral and geometric ornamentation motifs especially popular in northern India had their origins in the Middle East.
Centuries later, some of them have returned to their birthplace in a new form. One such form is embroidery which is often seen nowadays on kaftans, the loose shirts that form the basis of Arab fashion.
“The products I designed had a lot of surface embellishments, and these garments went to the Middle East,” Paul said.
“It’s the influence of Indian fashion on the Middle East.”
But modern Indian influence is evident on another level as well. Many famous Arab designers, including Elie Saab and Zuhair Murad, hire Bollywood stars to promote their creations.
Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have often been seen in his designed clothes.
“A lot of Middle Eastern brands appoint Bollywood celebrities as the face of the brand,” said Paul.
“That’s an exchange again.”
The conversation is also reflected in the fact that countless fashion shows in the Middle East, especially the Gulf region, regularly feature Indian designers and attract large audiences.
“Most Indian designers have stores in Dubai and they cater to the local market,” said Swati Ubroi, a Jaipur-based designer.
She believes that her fashion scenes would be incomplete if there was no mutual influence between India and the Middle East.
“The long tunics that are worn in the Middle East find a place in the Indian fashion industry. Indian embroidery has found a place in the Middle East,” she said. “There are a lot of common things.”
For Swarna Gupta, who runs her own apparel boutique in Jaipur and also sells designs in Dubai, the fashion exchange is smooth because Middle Eastern and Indian styles are compatible.
“Inspiration comes spontaneously from the Middle East,” she said.
“Both India and the Middle East are generally conservative societies where women want to appear feminine while expressing their style appropriately.”