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“Art, objects, or design considered to be in poor taste because of excessive garishness or sentimentality, but sometimes appreciated in an ironic or knowing way.” is how KITSCH is defined in the Webster Dictionary. Urban dictionary calls it—“As an art movement, lifestyle, or literature and film genre, that is pleasingly distasteful. It’s melodramatic, overdone, gaudy and tacky or sentimental and folksy.” So basically kitsch as an art/ design form when incorporated in fashion would generally imply a sartorial form that is tawdry or created to appeal to popular or undiscriminating fashion taste. Well all I can say is that this was perhaps the way kitsch as a design form was perceived almost two decades ago when it emerged on the art & design platform with interior designers, visual artists, painters, photographers taking a keen delight in glamorizing something that had its roots in raw and very rustic India. More gaudy & colorful, more kitschy!
But with passage of time, Kitsch has been toned done and got subtler. Fashion designers, brands & labels have experimented with this art form and created clothing using organic fabrics like khadi, cotton, linen & raw silk and incorporated different weaving & craft techniques to come up with such trendy pieces that spell elegance & grace while being quirky, vibrant & kitschy at the same time. Over a period these brands have carved a niche for offering clothing that is remarkably kitsch-inspired yet quite understated and very wearable! Some of my top favorite Indian Kitsch brands are:
