A classic bandhgala is a must in every man’s wardrobe. In the hands of Dev and Nil, the bandhgala gets a slight twist in the form of printed piping and buttons, but no more tampering with the classic appeal. “A bandhgala is for very formal occasions like weddings or wedding-related parties. We just twist the minute details, but nothing jarring or overwhelming,” says Dev.
Style tip: Make a statement by wearing a bandhgala as an alternative to suits for a formal dinner. Be ready to be surprised with the number of compliments coming your way.
A pair of cool blue bike-print pants teamed with a striped full-sleeved tee spells uber-cool street style. It’s the perfect OOTD when you’re out clubbing at night. While the bike print is signature Dev R Nil, on the tee the stripes are arranged to form a motif — of a man’s torso. The orange loafers and the orange-rimmed reflector glasses seal the deal.
Style tip: Make a pair of quirky printed pants your summer staple. Dress it up or down as the occasion demands.
This easy breezy summer look is all about the on-trend “Indi-cool”. “It’s got the whole Indian inspiration to it with the kurta, but with a quirky twist,” says Nil. A day-to-evening look, the half-sleeved short kurta paired with geometric-printed pants can be a pick for any casual do. The pop orange loafers add zing to the grey-and-blue shade card.
Style tip: The short kurta can also be a stylish pick for a traditional do where you want to wear a kurta but not a super traditional one.
This classic-with-a-twist look is ideal for a semi-formal brunch. The bundi with blocks of ikat colour-splashing is cool with a capital C, and looks suave when teamed with the slim white pants and white shirt. “We love doing prints and colour patches. And this ikat is our own weave. It’s a very polo look… it’s perfect for a polo brunch. It is royal with a sporty touch,” says Dev.
Style tip: For a formal look, team a bundi like this one with a black shirt and black trousers, the colour patches will stand out.
It’s the patch print from the Dev R Nil spring-summer ’15 collection and though a part of the menswear line, this look went on the ramp as womenswear. Evidently, the whole idea of the look is very androgynous. This casual summer suit will see you smoothly through day to date and will turn some heads as well. “It’s a casual suit, so in summer you can wear it to any kind of party where you don’t want to wear a very formal suit. Formal suits are very dark and structured usually, this is a nice break,” says Dev. A top trend that it taps into is print-on-print, that is channelling the same print in the upper and lowers.
Style tip: If, however, you’re not adventurous enough to try print-on-print, you can pick up separates from this look. Pair the jacket with denims and the printed pants with a white shirt or tee.
What’s hot for men this summer? Hear it from Dev and Nil
♦ Prints are very in. Wherever we are sending the printed pants, people are loving them; even in Calcutta men are slowly getting the hang of it. And it’s very easy to pull off. Whether it’s printed pants or shorts, in summer it looks very cool and comfortable. Also, since these are mostly in cotton with lycra, it’s got stretchability and makes movement easy.
♦ If someone can pull it off, then print-on-print. It’s a very dandy look. It’s something that we love. When we talk about the androgynous look, we usually talk about women doing men’s looks. But we look at it the other way — men becoming slightly soft. That happens with the print-on-print look, it’s like women wearing jumpsuits. It is a very big trend with international fashion labels. If not exactly matching, then team something similar. The trick is to pair bold prints with thin stripes, dots or fine checks. You can also team florals and geometry… that works brilliantly.
♦ Go more Indi. You don’t have to do the traditional all the way, but pick up hints from it… like a touch of where you come from. Prints, colours, more organic textiles, handwoven, handspun… these are all the elements that you can look at. We are so overwhelmed with the presence of so many brands all around us, also with online shopping these brands are so accessible, so to stand out, it’s best to dress with what you have around you. Pick up things from handloom shops that will be more interesting than wearing branded T-shirts and shirts all the time. Also, Bengalis and people from Bengal have always been exposed to prints… men have always worn batik and block prints. Wear that with a modern touch to it… that’s rather cool.
♦ Accessories complete the look. Not all men want to wear colours in their clothes, so their accessories play a very important role. Shoes, sunglasses, wristbands can add colour. Also, the man clutch is trending. Even with suits, a lot of men are carrying the man clutch. It’s a slightly smaller and softer version of the folder or file that men used to carry.
♦ Men are now experimenting with as many colours are possible. No more only black, white, grey. We see a lot of orange, a lot of cool blue, not classic navy but a dusty sort of blue, and yellows. The palette is not absolutely pop but more muted.
Smita Roy Chowdhury
Pictures: Pabitra Das
Model: Neeraj Surana
