01.01.70
New Delhi: India's first prime cleric Jawaharlal Nehru could be called a "style icon" of his circumstance for popularising a coat that is known in fashion circles as the "Nehru jacket". The attire has been listed among the top wide-ranging political fashion statements.
It has found place in a Time magazine index that also includes the tracksuit of Cuba's communist leader Fidel Castro and the safari suit of former Chinese band leader Mao Zedong.
"Nehru wore a close-fitted, knee-length tailored bandhgala [closed neck], with a rose tucked into the boutonniere. He made the look, unique to India, global," said forge designer Raghavendra Rathore, who gets numerous requests to costumier the Nehru jacket and has now become synonymous with the bandhgala.
"Unlike today, Nehru's trademark coats were always knee-length and made in khadi with a fair-skinned churidaar [long tight-fitting trousers], whereas now the trend is to have them in other fabrics.
Source: gulfnews.com