THE recent festive season threw up some major surprises in the much-neglected area of men’s fashion. Instead of sticking to the very staid and conventional modes of formal wear, men were turning out to be increasingly adventurous and innovative in their sartorial choices.

Designers too had turned their attention from routine salwar-kameezes and lehnga-cholis for women to colourful menswear in ever-exciting styles, bold cuts and newer fabrics. Angarkhas, achkans, sherwanis, Jodhpuri coats, Nehru jackets, chogas, jamas and pherans have together given the Indian male a new look.

For once, flamboyance is the name of the game. And with designers like Wendell Rodricks, Aki Narula, J.J. Vallaya and Krishna Mehta lending their own interpretations to traditional male wear, men’s fashion has taken an interesting turn.

For one, the angarkha (literally, a cover for the body) which was regarded as Rajput in origin with a typical round collar, is now being designed with an elongated neck which gathers at the waist. A strong western influence is visible in the overlapping or what is known as the double-breast cut.

For another, the achkan or sherwani, is being transformed from a regal outfit to a rather westernised suit jacket. It is long, with or without side slits, and traditionally worn which churidaars or Aligarh pyjamas.

Likewise, pyjamas are being replaced by long, narrow trousers, which are cut on the cross so that gathers are formed at the ankles when worn. Sherwanis with Chinese collars are being worn with long-sleeved, collar-less western shirts or kurtas.

Significantly a shorter version of the sherwani is also in circulation. Resembling the closed-neck (band gala) Jodhpuri jackets, it has staged a comeback after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi made it fashionable in the late eighties.

Then there is the kurta — by far the most popular ethnic garment for men. With the availability of newer fabric options, no longer is it treated as an item of casual wear. Kurtas are now being made in assorted cuts and lengths, with or without collars and coordinated with elaborate waist coats or jackets.

Designers like Hemant Trevedi prefer to team up kurtas with trousers, while others like J.J. Vallaya, Shobha Somani and Krishna Mehta are going in for a dhoti option. It is an unstitched piece of cloth, approximately three metres in length and could vary from cotton muslin to silk and brocade, depending upon the weather and occasion.

The dhoti is traditionally tied around the waist in a manner that it divides the legs so that it emerges like a billowy trouser. Since tying dhotis has become a forgotten art, it is now being pre-stitched so that the man can simply step into it and button up.

Apart from being teamed with kurtas (as Bengalis would prefer), the dhoti is now worn with long knee-length shirts and, more significantly, with pherans. Traditionally, these loose and wide kurta-styled shirts used to be worn with salwars. Somehow, this time around, salwars are out of favour with Indian men.

A variation of the pheran, is the jama. It has a clinched waist and may have an asymmetric opening, but the skirt flare could be as much as 7.5 metres. Gujarati shepherds in the Kutch region still wear it with the flare reaching around the hips. But as a fashion garment, pheran hemlines can touch the knees,

Moreover, instead of the conventional cotton, there’s muslin and silk being used to design pherans. The sleeves are made extra long so that they gather at the wrist. The front is profusely embroidered, much like the yoke of women’s kameezes.

Yet another ot favourite of the times is the choga — the most amazing of men’s outfits. Basically a loose long coat, it could be with or without side slits.Unlike long coats, chogas are not supposed to have buttons for closure and need to be wrapped around like a kimono. (MF)