Fashion

You might knee-d this column one day

When you are young, you compare notes on fashion trends, concert venues and coffee shops. When you are retirement age, you compare notes on surgeons, hospitals and recovery times.

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Paul is my new physical therist. He’s a British guy on YouTube. The great thing about YouTube medical care is that there’s no perwork to fill out and your insurance is never questioned. Plus, your health care professional doesn’t know if you leave the workout to answer text messages.
PT Paul has been helping me with my trick knee. It can’t pull a rabbit out of a hat, but it can do other tricks. That knee had surgery twice as a kid and likes to remind me.
Because I am sometimes exuberant, I’ve been watching PT Paul twice a day doing the full regimen of knee-strengthening exercises. Now, not only my left knee hurts, but I sometimes limp, and my right hip hurts.
It’s not Paul’s fault; it’s mine. I should have taken more text message breaks.
All of which is how I found myself sitting in an orthopedic surgeon’s office. This doctor replaced both knees for a friend. When you are young, you compare notes on fashion trends, concert venues and coffee shops. When you are retirement age, you compare notes on surgeons, hospitals and recovery times.
The walls were plastered with photogrhs.
Look at this one, I chirped. A woman standing by a helicopter wrote, ‘Thanks for putting me back in the air.’
Next to that was an equestrian rider jumping a horse over a fence. Below that was a picture of a woman whacking the stuffing out of a tennis ball.
She wrote, Thanks for giving me my life back. My TKR has made all the difference. You’re the best!TKR is code for total knee replacement. I know that thanks to my translator.
This is incredible! I said. I could be flying helicopters, playing tennis and jumping horses.
My translator rolled her eyes.
The last picture showed two fellas on a wrestling mat and the inscription said, Thanks for getting me back on the mat in six weeks!
After discussion with the doctor, I opted to see how a cortisone shot would work.
I thanked him and said, You must be really good to have that fella back on a wrestling mat only six weeks after surgery.
He said the one he did surgery on was the 60-something referee standing next to the mat at the edge of the photo.
Oh, I see, I said. But tell me this, how long after surgery before I could get my pilot’s license or be jumping horses?

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Fashion

The Problem With Treating Women’s Body Types Like Fashion Trends

I think (or hope) most of us can agree that the concept of a body trend is damaging and, for lack of a better word, downright weird.

I think (or hope) most of us can agree that the concept of a body trend is damaging and, for lack of a better word, downright weird.
Yet, here we are, watching the media push the narrative that you must look a certain way to be considered beautiful or worthy of love and acceptance. Sometimes, the messaging is subtle, like in those moments when we’re praising a singer for representing a healthy body type, while she’s just existing in an athletic frame. Other times, it’s obnoxiously obvious, like when we witness bullying from a herd of social media users slamming an actress for having a stomach that folds when sitting.
Videos by VICE
What a concept!
Body Types Should Not Be Trending
Now, most of us blame the harmful push of body trends on the systems that profit off our insecurities, and we’re right to do so. But unfortunately, the criticism doesn’t stop there. I see men spewing judgments as if they’re the son of Christ himself. I see women projecting their own shame onto other women. I see the media glorifying specific body types like they’re a fashion statement. I see influencers and celebrities morphing themselves into whatever beauty standard is hot that year. And it all perpetuates the harmful messaging of these toxic industries.
For many, it’s a survival instinct. We want to fit in, to belong, to be loved and accepted. In Hollywood, it might affect whether you land an acting gig or remain relevant as you age. On social media, it might mean the difference between staying small and going viral. In modeling, it can absolutely make or break your career.
I think it’s easy to blame ‘society’ as this vague, faceless thing, but industries drive our habit of treating our bodies as trends, not society, says Kelly Wakeland, LCSW, therist at Equip. It’s an intentional business model constructed by the diet and wellness industries to she how we think. If society can convince us that our natural body types are ‘out of style,’ it creates this permanent, multi-billion-dollar market. When the cultural ideal constantly shifts from extreme thinness to hyper-muscularity to curves and back again, it forces us to buy into new ‘solutions’ to an artificially created problem.
How We Fuel Exploitative Industries
In my own experience, it seems like a woman’s pearance—a woman’s body—has become the most important part of themselves to most people. For example, I’ve noticed that when someone disagrees with a female reality TV star’s behavior, they don’t just critique her personality or actions. They start attacking her looks, including her body. Now, for one, no one should ever comment on another person’s body in that way; and two, think about all the other women who share a similar body type to the one being attacked.
When we make harmful comments like this, we aren’t just criticizing one woman—we are tearing down all women by fueling a system that already preys on our insecurities.
Today, it is—unfortunately—an act of rebellion to love your body as it is, without feeling the need to skip meals, get surgery, take certain medications, or treat exercise like a full-time job. Not only is it rebellious, but it’s also nearly impossible when you’re conditioned to pick yourself art.
Because of this, more women are dropping the idea of body positivity and are instead embracing body neutrality. This looks like less I love my body and all its imperfections! and more like My body keeps me alive and allows me to experience life fully, and mt pearance is irrelevant. Both attitudes are great, but the latter might be more attainable and helpful.
In a culture that profits from self-doubt, telling someone to simply ‘love their body’ can actually bring on a lot of shame and cognitive dissonance, says Wakeland. If they don’t believe it, forcing body positivity feels like another standard they’re failing to meet. Instead, I guide people toward body neutrality: we shift the focus away from how the body looks and toward what it does—its utility, resilience, and cacity to help them experience the world. Focusing on this can help build confidence because it’s tied to something tangible.

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Fashion

The problem with wanting Cocktail 2 to be a lesbian love story so badly

It’s not hard to speculate where this rumour could have originated from and why people are so enthusiastically running with it. It has become deceptively easy to run PR campaigns surrounding upcoming films, using them to stir cultural discourse. Even though Cocktail 2 director Homi Adajania has said there is a good reason behind Sanon’s now-viral ‘threesome’ dialogue from the trailer, what is more interesting is what these conversations reveal about us as a film-going audience. Films like Kabir Singh and Animal, and in the more recent past, Dhurandhar and Tere Ishk Mein, have created the kind of celluloid landsce that mainly swings between masculine hero-worship and trite rom-coms. If two girls in a movie aren’t fighting for the affection of the lone male protagonist and Bollywood is still years away from perfecting genuine female friendships on-screen, the only option is for the audience to brand them as lesbians.

Despite the history of queerness in India spanning centuries, mainstream culture has rarely paid its due to non-heteronormative stories. Since the decriminalisation of Section 377 in 2018, the queer films we have gotten have been few and far between, with Badhaai Do delving into the lavender marriage between a gay cop and a lesbian PE teacher, Ek Ladki Ko Dekha Toh Aisa Laga a Punjabi woman (Sonam Koor)’s coming-out story, ‘Geeli Pucchi’ from Ajeeb Daastaan following an intercaste lesbian love story, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui centring the romance between a cisgender man and a transwoman (minus points casting Vaani Koor in the role) being the last few attempts.

Within mainstream culture, the lesbian still exists as a caricature to titillate the male gaze, never as an autonomous individual. Recently, Accused (2026), a film about a successful gynaecologist (Konkona Sen Sharma) facing anonymous allegations of sexual misconduct, explored the fetishistic accusations that lesbians are often slammed with for living their truth and how easily they can be turned into predators when the stigma surrounding their sexuality is weonised against them. A nuanced portrayal like that could have benefitted from a wider theatrical release, but there’s a real chance that it would not have been given the CBFC greenlight for ‘defiling Indian culture’ by showing a married Indian lesbian couple. When Deepa Mehta’s Fire released in 1996, it had passed through the censor board with no cuts. Only once it reached the masses did right-wing political parties call for a ban against the “immoral and pornogrhic” film, saying it went “against Indian tradition and culture”. Theatres were vandalised, cinema-goers were threatened. Despite the fact that Fire released 30 years ago, it is still hailed as one of the most progressive portrayals of sphic love to ever come out of Indian cinema.

Fashion

Antique temple jewellery Id wear as a bride—and a Vogue editor

What makes antique temple jewellery so special?

In school, I trained in Bharatanatyam. Serious dancers often arrived adorned in gleaming oddiyanams (belts), elaborate nethi chuttis (hair ornaments) and the unmistakable sun and moon-shed hair pins that transformed young girls into celestial goddesses. I gave up dancing, but my yearning for these mythological jewellery styles continued. As a South Indian—equal parts Tamil and Malayali, raised in Karnataka—who grew up surrounded by gold shops, displays featuring antique temple designs lured my mum and I more than diamonds ever could.

Originally crafted by artisans who melted down offerings made to deities, temple jewellery carries centuries of devotion within its ornate forms. After trickling down temple idols via meticulously made replicas, these ornaments eventually found their way into the bridal wardrobes of women across South India. The Kanjeevaram sari’s jewellery counterpart. Inspired by temple architecture, the designs feature miniature sculpted deities, flora and fauna in antique-finish gold. Regal, deeply symbolic and unologetically maximalist, for me, temple jewellery will remain the first purchase of my bridal trousseau I will make…when, then.

1. The oddiyanam, the golden cinch

The oddiyanam—a waist belt— is one temple jewellery style that is passed down as inheritance in South Indian families. Also known as an vaddanam in Telegu or kamarband in Hindi, it accentuates a sari’s pleats, transforming its silhouette. These often feature sculpted motifs of Goddess Lakshmi, rows of kemp stones and intricate repoussé work.

2. Stacked necklaces that reach the waist

Nothing says South Indian bride quite like stacking temple jewellery necklaces—starting with the shortest choker and extending down to the waist. This stack can include manga (mango) or kassa (coin) malai, or a mix of all. “Is she even a bride if she does not look like a Thrissur annai,” is a joke that loosely ctures the grandiosity of a bride from Kerala, comparing her to the majestic elephants at the Trissur Pooram festival.

Fashion

Madhuri Dixit Nenes Mayyur Girotra sari is for those who want to drape their jeans

Madhuri Dixit Nene’s wardrobe is a case study in making Indian wear look statement. Currently on a spree, delivering one strong look after another on the promotional tour for her latest movie, the actor turned to a ubiquitous fabric for an off-kilter look. Dixit Nene chose a pre-dred sari by Delhi-based designer Mayyur Girotra made with denim and a silk tissue blouse that deserves a second look.

The metallic blouse and the pre-pleated pallu were resplendent with embroidered floral pliqué. Those with a discerning eye can spot the return of modest blouses –like the high-neck and elbow-sleeve version seen on Dixit Nene here– that are still impactful.

For accessories, stylist Sukriti Grover paired the sari look with chandbali earrings, stacked gold bangles and a temple jewellery ring from label Motifs by Surabhi Didwania. She also added a handcrafted bag by Mumbai-based accessories deisgner Meera Mahadevia. Hair and makeup artists Sheetal F Khan and Shefali Sharma styled her hair in loose waves and kept the overall makeup subtle for beauty.

**From Vogue’s fashion desk:**

“Trust Madhuri Dixit to make a denim sari look elegant. The embroidery on the sari and the contrast silver blouse make the denim work as a sari. If you are choosing a similar denim sari or crafting one, pair it with a simple white tank or crop top and sneakers for an easy, everyday look,” says Divya Balakrishnan, Vogue India fashion associate.

At Vogue Wedding Ateliers Evening with the Editor in Mumbai, legacy came dressed in red, emeralds and heirloom diamonds

The evening’s jewellery partner, GoluBhai Badalia Diamond, brought its own three-generation history into the room. Known for its focus on high-quality stones and careful selection, the brand sat naturally within the evening’s wider conversation around legacy. Across the room, fine jewellery peared in sharply different combinations: gold medallions over black necklines, antique pearls with linen, solitary diamonds against paillettes and sphires worn with navy embroidered saris. Elsewhere, emerald necklaces were worn with green gowns. Across the evening, inherited and fine jewellery was no longer confined to expected weddingwear pairings. It moved through black evening looks, embroidered saris, linen separates and gowns with much greater range.

For Jaya Raheja, legacy came into focus through a piece she still wears: her grandmother’s diamond solitaire pendant, given to her at her wedding. Her answers elsewhere made clear that her own bridal instincts still tilt traditional. “For me, a wedding is always going to be red,” she said, describing her ideal look as “a traditional red lehenga or a sari.” When asked about jewellery, she was equally certain. “Emerald for me,” she said, adding that she prefers a single statement piece. Her response gave the evening one of its clearest ideas: inheritance still matters, but so does the edit each person brings to it.

That tension between recognisable bridal codes and more individual styling choices returned elsewhere in the room. Makeup artist Shradha Luthra described her bridal proach as “minimal magic”, adding that brides now want to look like themselves, just “a little more enhanced”. She also pointed to the return of red this season, a shift that echoed Raheja and suggested that older bridal references are being revisited with a different sensibility rather than simply repeated.

Other guests spoke about legacy through adtation as much as inheritance. Filmmaker Himanshu Patel described the modern Indian wedding in one word as “reinvention”, arguing for “a modern touch” to old traditions. His answer widened the conversation beyond objects. Legacy, in this version, depends not only on what is handed down, but on how people continue to use it, wear it and revise it.

By the end of the evening, Mumbai offered a view of wedding style that treated legacy as something living rather than static. It could be found in diamond pendants passed down through family, in red bridal dressing returning to favour, in heritage jewels worn with newer silhouettes and in the confidence to proach all of it with a more personal point of view.