Parrikar: From kurta to couture

The physical image we have of Manohar Parrikar witnessed quite a change as, instead of his regular style of clothing, he was seen wearing a Nehru collar black suit at the Republic Day Parade at Rajpath. Café spoke to Goan designers to get their take on this

Published on:

28 Jan 2015, 5:31 pm

Watching the Republic Day Parade, most Goans

were eager to see how their former Chief Minister

and current Defence Minister of India, Manohar

Parrikar would be dressed. Was he going to

carry on with his casual look of untucked, short

sleeved shirt, trousers and sandals? Or would we

see something different? And Goa was indeed

surprised, for our very own Parrikar was, probably

for the first time, seen garbed in a rather dapper

black, Nehru collar suit. While most designers were

wondering who styled his look, it turns out that it

was picked from a store in Delhi as the Defence

Minister didn’t want a designer.

Cherylyne Maria Estibeiro of the label

‘Cherylyne’, from Margao, says, “The suit surely

made him look smarter and handsome. It gave a

dignified feel and suited his personality and the

portfolio he is currently holding. He was dressed

according to the occasion. He should continue

wearing suits for his high profile meetings with

dignitaries from across the world.”

Megny Fernandes, a designer from Panjim,

says, “Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar looked

very chic in the well tailored suit. The Nehru collar

gives the western look a nice Indian touch. I feel

that Manohar Parrikar should change his look and

stop wearing his short sleeved shirts. He should

continue wearing more formal suits and, in fact,

create a more formal wardrobe and experiment

with his clothes. A different look for every

occasion.”

Melvyn Noronha, the National costume

designer for Miss United Continent contestant Gail

Da Silva, who won the first runner up title at the

competition, says, “It was good to see Manohar

Parrikar donning a suit. Goa is a wonderful

place with people of different religions living in

unity. Wearing a Nehru suit gets the best of both

worlds. Also, Goa reflects style, and since he is

representing Goa, he might have consciously

or subconsciously decided to wear the suit. His

ascent to the post of Defence Minister has made

all of us proud. He should care about his style and

continue with the classiness.”

Jyotsna Bhat says, “I was very happily surprised

to see the always casually dressed Manohar

Parrikar wearing a very good and well designed

suit. As a designer, I feel that he should keep up

with the way he is looking and a stylist should

design the outfits for the Defence Minister.”

Lakeisha Palha of the designer duo Ameisha

says, “It is great to see the fashion industry moving

into the world of politics and Manohar Parrikar

has kept his look fashionable and political line

intact. Our political leaders require fashion stylists

to keep politics interesting by modernising Indian

dressing with western styling. Manohar Parrikar

has merged the two well.”

International fashion designer Wendell

Rodricks found that there were more things

that needed to be addressed rather than just

concentrating on his dressing sense. “If Manohar

Parrikar had to wear his shirt and sandals to the

occasion, firstly, he would have frozen in the

weather. Secondly, the President of the United

States of America, Barack Obama, was also present

and Parrikar had to wear formalwear befitting the

occasion. Being the Defence Minister, he has a

lot more important issues related to his job rather

than just wearing a suit.”