The mini skirt may have been fashionable in the 1960s but it was in the late 1920s that the piece of clothing was born. After World War I, economic austerity gripped major part of Europe and people cut the length of their skirts to save money. History (read mom and dad) didn’t take notice until the baby boomers exposed their legs above the knees. For 40 years miniskirts ruled and nothing revealed more skin, except, of course, the bikini, which we’ll discuss later.

Then came the 21st century, and just into its first decade, Generation Now fashioned jeans that turned the mini skirt rule upside down. This one revealed from waist below, and left little for the imagination.

The mid-decade saw the rise (or is it the fall?) of low-rise jeans, and by the end of 2009, it had become acceptable and common to expose one’s body well below the waist and into the danger zone.

And it did create a lot of ruckus especially when boys began to show their boxers and young girls their thongs under their low-waist jeans. The sight, of the Y-shaped waistband above waistline, they called the ‘whale tail’. You did not have to be at sea to see it.

Many states tried to police the low-rise jeans out of existence but the popular vote was on its side. The world could do nothing but accept it as a fashion gift from the first decade of the 21st century.

Today, like the mini skirt, every denim store around the corner has a collection of low-rise jeans — destroyed, boot cut, or slim fit, they all hang somewhere between the hip and the crotch.

Dipen Lahkar, marketing manager of Levi’s Delhi, says, “The demand for low-rise jeans has been overwhelming. Eight out of 10 jeans that we sell are low-rise.”

What could be the reason behind Generation Now’s fancy for low-rise jeans?

The answer lies in the gym. In the past 10 years the health sector got a major boost in India. The world renowned Gold’s Gym opened in India (2002) along with many lesser-known fitness centres. The fad caught on like wildfire. Actors Milind Soman and Rahul Dev were to launch a fitness centre, called Breathe, in Delhi last year. It was a decade when the fitness market swelled to Rs 690 crore and the anti-obesity market to Rs 1,800 crore. According to a Technopak Advisors report, the market is projected to grow at a 13 per cent compounded annual rate through 2010. It was a decade when everyone dreamed of six-pack abs and the girls the elusive size zero.

There you have it. It was not just the bottom but also other assets in the body scape that he/she wanted to flaunt. His six- pack abs and her size-zero waist came after a lot of hard work, and what was the point if you could not show it off?

The backside won hands down. If you don’t believe it, ask Reebok, a brand that spent untold money on research and development on a shoe that promises to tone your butt by just wearing it. ‘Asstounding’, that’s the magic word for Reebok’s EasyTone in India. And customers are lapping it up as if it was manna from heaven.

Managing director of Reebok India, Subhinder Singh Prem, says, “EasyTone has been a worldwide rage. The shoe is designed to make you balance your weight and in the process your backside gets toned. You don’t even have to jog. Just wearing it is enough.”

However, the decade was not just known for baring the backside. It also faced an inconvenient truth of global warming. By the latter half of the decade, a deep sense of guilt gripped everybody. We held ourselves responsible for the melting polar ice caps and the rising sea level that threatened to displace millions of people. Not to mention the curse of the Wall Street that turned every spender into penny pinchers in the past two years.

While we couldn’t cut our hemlines further to save our pennies, the decade did initiate a switch to more environment-friendly clothing. If the underwear index is a measure of the economy, what does bamboo underwear have to reveal?

The demand for eco-friendly products grew all of a sudden, making it chic to wear cotton again. The fabric of the decade was, however, made of bamboo and it came in the form of underwear. A Japanese company started it and today it has caught the imagination of many.

A week ago, Hollywood actress Rachel McAdams launched a website greenissexy.org to raise awareness about the benefits of donning a pair of bamboo underwear that also goes on to save the environment. Other pluses include its natural anti-bacterial and anti-fungal qualities, making bamboo fabric the perfect material for underwear. Moreover, they are manufactured without using any pesticides and are bio-degradable.

In India, however, eco-friendly clothes still mean cotton.

Designer Ritu Kumar says, “We do a lot of cottons throughout the year. Khadi — which is not only pure cotton but silk and wool as well — has an added advantage. It is made of hand-spun yarn, which helps in the employment of rural women and, hence, even more sensitive to the environment. This year I am doing an in-depth line of organic cotton, grown without the use of chemicals such as pesticides and fertilisers.”

We don’t know how long before bamboo underwear becomes a norm, but with every product going green, don’t be surprised if you find your grandchildren wearing fig leaves.Till then bamboo underwear will rule!

biswayonzon

@mydigitalfc.com