In Torani

Comment image 42


For the screening of her movie, Kangana picked a Torani suit to wear. An embellished matching headband and pair of heels from Oceedee rounded out the actor’s look.

Wish she lost that gimmicky headband and chunky heels… Like the suit on her, the accessories not so much. Also, an unpopular opinion- I wish this indiscriminate and random Kahlo appropriation would just stop across the board already!



Kangana Ranaut At Panga Screening



Kangana Ranaut At Panga Screening

Photo Credit: Viral Bhayani

  • Like it? Share it!

42 Comments

  1. I love the colors of her tiara, she ruined it with that shiny china silk printed suit. Maybe a monochrome dress of some sort would have been better?

    The tiny jharoo hanging from the dupatta?
    Saaf Mumbai abhiyan?

    7
    53
    Reply
  2. You’re absolutely right re Frida Kahlo. I know KR’s political viewpoints are of probably no relevance to her fashion, but Ms. Kahlo would be spinning, were she to read them.

    93
    3
    Reply
  3. Not sure I follow — did Kangana claim the headband was a tribute to Kahlo? Floral headbands show up in multiple cultures/contexts (hippie, Renaissance fairs, Mexican of course) so I’m not getting the Frida-specific connection.

    39
    33
    Reply
  4. I saw the interview with other actresses with Kangana dressed in this attire…and it (head band) looked ridiculous among normally dressed women…

    40
    1
    Reply
  5. I’m asking a naive question and I want to be educated – Hoping this sisterhood can help me here.

    Cultural appropriation is adopting someone else’s culture, when there’s historically been a mismatched power dynamic between the oppressor (who in this case is the adopter) and the oppressed. A simple explanation that I found on the internet – “I want your culture but I don’t want you”.

    Why does Kangana’s “tribute” count as appropriation? Ignoring the fact that many of us find her gimmicky in general, trying to understand this objectively. It would be clear to me had she been an known to be anti-immigration may be she is, i dont know).

    Now the reason I actually ask this is because I deeply admire Frida Kahlo for her courage and talent. I frequently make plans to dress my 1 year old daughter as her, at her first fancy dress party. But I may not, once I understand the nuance here.

    thank you 🙂

    49
    3
    Reply
    • Agree with everything you said, and I’m a fellow Frida fan. My guess is Kangana related to her feminist spirit and love for indigenous clothing/accessories. But the tribute seems subtle to me; I would not have made the connection without the comments here.

      There’s also the famous picture of Frida in a sari, but if we’re ignoring privilege and power dynamics, I’m guessing that’s not OK either now?

      14
      5
      Reply
    • Copying a famous personality’s ‘style’ isn’t tribute. Yeah you see people n try to dress or look like them cause you’ve been seeing them often and instead of getting to the reason why they’re all around you recall… their appearance. It’s not a tribute or inspiration or appropriation issue. It’s just silly human thing, to forget the flower n capture the stem.

      4
      5
      Reply
    • The important thing is to not ignore “her being gimmicky in general”. Is it done because she has shown interest in FK’s story, history, culture, art, etc or is she just doing it because it looks pretty without any respect to its origins?
      It’s not a black and white thing, like some desi people are ok with appropriation with westerners wearing saris, in fact even celebrate it, on the other hand, some find it somewhat insulting.

      14
      1
      Reply
    • What is oppressed and oppressor here. Frida had indigenous ancestry and probably drew her costumes from it – her cultural position and talent made her an icon and its now part of global culture like Che t-shirts. Kangana is a highly paid actress whose stylists use “inspiration” from here and there to create her visual persona. Sometimes she pulls it off, sometimes she doesn’t. That is all there is to it.

      25
      2
      Reply
    • Yes you are somewhat right about your understanding of ‘cultural appropriation’, I would say it is something like ‘loving biriyani but hating muslims’. But appropriation need not always be by someone who oppressed the people whose culture s being appropriated. It may be just a case where a cultural symbol is replicated but the significance of that particular symbol is ignored. For example, native American headdresses. If an Indian lady wears it without respecting its symbolism it is still appropriation ( although Indians never oppressed native Americans). In the case of Frida Kahlo people seem to replicate or pay homage to only the aesthetics of Frida ( since it is a beautiful aesthetic really ) but forgets what Frida actually stood for and that her aesthetic flowed from her personal and political beliefs. Fir example, Kahlo fought with depression and suicidal feelings. Here, Kangana seems to pay tribute to Kahlo and on the other hand her manager/ sister makes fun of another actress who claims to have suffered from depression. Moreover, Frida Khalo was a communist and i’m not sure whether she would approachable any homage to her through a 1 lakh rupee ensemble. Just my opinion, sorry for the long post.

      26
      4
      Reply
      • I think it’s unwise to reduce someone to just one facet of their life — be it Frida it Kangana. Before putting Frida on a pedestal, let’s not forget her support of Trotsky, and later, Stalin. There are certainly many things to admire about her, some of which may resonate with Kangana (creative commitment, dealing with adversity and chronic pain, love for indigenous attire, feminism), and that’s likely all there is to this tribute. The rush to outrage without nuance is better left to Twitter.

        23
        5
        Reply
  6. Without the headband, the suit itself is pretty meh. Something common women would wear in daily life, but with better stitching, the pants here are pretty ill-fitting. With the headband, it’s just silly and screams – “oh I am so enlightened and aware of world culture”, while actually having the exact opposite effect.

    32
    4
    Reply
  7. Bravo HHC ladies. This is probably the most critical comment I have seen from you in the recent past.
    Usually your commentary is either very vanilla or generally complimentary (when actually the clothes worn are atrocious)…..or that standard “Like this look?” + your obvious bias to your favourites despite the ugly attire they wear (Sophie Chaudhary being one). Any how, its nice to see your critique.

    26
    2
    Reply
  8. I kinda liked the look.
    Adds an interesting note to an otherwise okay suit. And why not, she’s the star here. And I do not find anything wrong with the kahlo connection. If folks can do a Audrey Hepburn, Jackie O why not kahlo.

    10
    13
    Reply
  9. Unpopular opinion, but I’m really liking it… these celebrities usually need to dress a little extra to stand out in a crowd… although I know there can be far better choices, but I’d take this quirky look any day over blingy, tits/ass platter clothes

    15
    8
    Reply
  10. I developed an eye for subcontinental high fashion following this website in its initial years. Lately, however, the authors’ sartorial choices seem to have veered away from high fashion review to general armchair commenting that abounds on the internet. Most looks that are appreciated now are looks that the authors might appreciate on themselves. I hope this is just a phase and the old HHC is revived again.

    17
    1
    Reply
  11. Unpopular opinion : I’m getting tired of this suffocated PC culture! ‘Don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t say this- shame on you! Don’t wear that- how insensitive, don’t joke about x- how privileged! Don’t joke about y – how ignorant!’ .. and not to forget “ ugh! How dated & over simple is this style! Where is originality & personal taste? “ it’s exhausting !

    18
    6
    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *