Siyaane
सियाने . سیانے
Street Style in Park Circus
(Ongoing Project)
siyaane
adjective slang
1. cunning; clever; shrewd
The clothing and footwear that the haute couture houses, retail clothing brands and streetwear brands of India advertise and sell as Indian street fashion, is priced too exorbitantly to be worn by the average Indian on the streets. Only an exclusive privileged class is able to afford it. Moreover, the products of these brands do not accurately reflect the aesthetic and taste of the streets. We would even go as far as to say that the so called mainstream streetwear in India, is not Indian at all.
Yet, the globalised, brand-savvy, trend-following youth of India, desperate to express themselves through the clothes they wear, has led to the rise of an alternative fashion industry that caters to their needs at reasonable prices. The streets of urban India abound in ‘first copies’, ‘second copies’ and rip-offs of international luxury brands. There are even local brands that produce their own cheaper versions of popular designs.
Park Circus is one such locality of Calcutta, which has always had its own take on the trends of the day. Tackier, slicker, louder than the original, be it clothes, sneakers, accessories or hairstyles. Having grown up in the vicinity of this locality, we have always been awed by the confidence and nonchalance with which the people of Park Circus have repped local brands on the streets.The irony is that some of these people were spotted at a high-end luxury shopping mall.
This is an ongoing project through which we intend to document the everyday fashion parade on the streets of Park Circus. The following photographs were shot on 35mm film and a smartphone camera.
Concept by Sourav Roy
Shot & Edited by Sohan Ray & Sourav Roy
December, 2019
Calcutta
