St Teresa’s girls break ‘desi bride’ rules on the ramp | Kochi News

How often do we see an Indian bride in a black sari? Or, in a so-called inauspicious white lehenga? A stylish suit?
At the recently-held fashion show named MITERA at Kochi’s St Teresa’s College, the Teresian girls rocked the ramp as unconventional brides endorsing freedom of choice. A North-Indian bride in a white chikankari lehenga, a cocktail gown-clad bride holding a margarita, another student dressed in a red Banarasi suit, those embracing black lip sticks, the no-makeup, minimal jewelry looks and the sari-pant-veil combo… Progressive ideas were plentiful at the show, which was held as part of the wrap-up of the college’s five-month-long campaign ‘I Do and Don’t,’ aiming at redefining marriages as safe spaces with choices.
Third year Communicative English student KJB Lizbeth, who did the styling for the show, says, “In many states, white-coloured dresses are associated with widows and so they are avoided at weddings. That’s why we decided to quash the idea through a white lehenga. Our show stopper was the girl in an unconventional hijab, who paired it with a stylish, dark green lehenga, as the choice to wear a hijab is much-discussed, now. Similarly, the cocktail mermaid gown had the colour blue paired with white, as we are brought up saying ‘blue is for boys and pink for girls.’ In all the nine dresses showcased, we have tried to do away with some age-old ideas on marriages and bridal costumes.” The costumes were put together by the students collaborating with a wedding boutique in Kochi.
Meghna Lily, one of the students who was on the ramp, says that breaking the conventional norms on platforms like these shows, to emphasise the importance of choice, definitely has an impact. “For instance, I wore the blue mermaid gown and held a margarita in my hand, which is unthinkable in most of our current marriage functions, as women drinking in public is frowned upon and blue is labelled the boy’s colour. My own friends, who saw my attire, said that they would have loved it as a wedding dress. We feel that if it is my wedding day, I should have the choice to wear what makes me happy,” she says.
The campaign, which started in October, had apparently staged many events right from the beginning, to discuss marriage choices and individuality for all genders, the need to exercise autonomy with dignity and more. Sarah Athiyali, one of the event coordinators, says, “What triggered this campaign was the deaths of many young women in the past few months in Kerala, following dowry harassment, domestic violence and incidents of physical abuse. We had seminars featuring those like filmmaker Jeo Baby about stereotypes of marriages in films, campus discussions on marital rights, graffiti wall creation based on this theme, online photography, caption writing competitions and more, to ensure that youngsters actively think about these matters.”