The word fat, has gone from being an adjective to being an expletive. And no dedicated follower of fashion can allow even a hint of fat to creep up on them. The quest for the ideal weight and perfect shape is now a goal for most of urban India. However, slowly, our perceptions of the perfect shape are changing, no doubt influenced by the 22-inch waist and 31-inch bust, known as the notorious Size Zero. Popular Indian icons like Shah Rukh Khan and Kareena Kapoor are suddenly flashing ribs and abs and Kapoor’s questionably thin frame in Tashan has sparked off a fresh debate on sizing. Over the years, the traditional Indian ideal of beauty—big hips and an ample bust—has changed to a svelte, shapely body. Now the global obsession with skinniness is sure to throw up many more reed-thin, Size Zero Indian role models in the future.

If you want to get into a pair of drainpipe jeans by Miss Sixty, you better barely be there, or at least that’s the message the popular jeans brand not very subtly, sends out. They’ve established the trend for jeans and like it or not, its skinny, long and almost painted on. In short, it’s the toughest test to pass, weight-wise.

When following trends, the scales are tipped to suit the glamorously thin; designer Marc Jacobs doesn’t even make evening gowns in more than a size UK 12 (28 inch waist). Indian designers, so far don’t make Size Zero, unless it’s on order. “Mostly, our clients waver between a medium and large,” says Harmeet Bajaj, a fashion choreographer and co-owner of fashion boutique, Bian, in Delhi. Bajaj, who also exports garments to the US says they make the extra small size (XS) only on order. She goes on to concede, “We’ve noticed when we have showings in our store, and we place garments on a Size Zero mannequin, they move faster.” Is this an indication of our society’s alarming obsession with reed thinness?

... contd.