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Sudha Menon

Rohit and Ritika Tickoo from Pune have just added a new dimension of style and elegance to the skirt.

A woman's outer garment hanging from the waist," is how the Oxford dictionary describes it. Yet today, the skirt — that ubiquitous garment that has a place in every woman's wardrobe — has evolved into a revolutionary fashion statement, an inspiring style mantra and an exciting trend that is being re-evaluated and metamorphosed in innumerable imaginative ways.

Pune's Rohit and Ritika Tickoo, who run Either Or, the city's best-known store for all things funky and innovative, have just launched Skirtology, a new concept which they feel adds an all-new dimension to the skirt, and refers to the store's latest collection of skirts designed to suit the needs of the discerning skirt wearer who wants the garment to be both stylish and utilitarian.

With the monsoon in our midst and with women exchanging their salwar kameezes and trousers in favour of more practical attire, the collection seems to have come in at the right time.

There are skirts and skirts and then some more but, says Rohit, Skirtology is an attempt to move away from the traditional and the mundane and lifts the garment to a higher plane by giving it a modern interpretation while retaining its classical essence.

"Whether it is the classical or spiritual look or one that sports hippy and cool chic, the garment must reflect the lifestyle, identity and every mood of the wearer. With Skirtology we are attempting just that," he says.

Chiffon, silk and synthetic skirts that are flared, straight, some just above the knees, others tantalisingly knee-length or those with their hemlines skirting mid-ankle — retail stores and malls are groaning under the weight of a hundred different interpretations of the skirt. Talk to the discerning woman, however, and the familiar complaint is that malls and departmental stores have killed any individuality there used to be in clothes. "Many of our customers complain of the predictability of clothes that they get in the malls and stores, so we set out to be innovative with the favoured garment of the season — the skirt," says Rohit. A professional photographer, he runs Either Or and Either Or Too, its sibling store, purely to indulge his passion for all things Indian.

At Either Or, the duo have given the go-by to predictable, traditionally used fabrics such as chiffon and styles like wrap-arounds. In their place is a stunning range of skirts embellished with a range of native skills including block-prints, embroidered panels and khadi work all set in splendid natural dyes and hues of earthy brown, indigo and soothing pastels. Cool cottons taper off into spindly tassels that brush the ankle or rise in a sweep of frills to the waist; or you might find just a wrap of soft cotton that stops short mid-calf... the designs at Either Or speak of originality and imagination.

"Our customers just love the combination of traditional art with a contemporary interpretation. That way they know for sure that they won't run into someone else at work or at a party sporting the same skirt," says Ritika.

The store's collection is presented by Rohit in a portfolio that could also double up as its style-check book where models display the range co-ordinated with tops, jewellery, bags and stoles.

"It is an experiment at producing something high on quality and innovation for our customers," says Ritika. Check it out!

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