Question Hour: The power dress code

The power dress code

Brand Rahul Gandhi has undergone some cosmetic changes in his dressing, hasn’t he?

Mumbai

Rashmi, not some, Rahul Gandhi has changed dramatically. From shirts and trousers to kurtas and pajamas is the first change. Rahul is looking more and more comfortable in his kurta-pajamas of late. Thankfully, one cannot see the grabs of the shoes he wears, but that does not matter as much. In the case of Rajiv Gandhi, it did matter. The brand Lotto comes to mind when one thinks of Rajiv Gandhi.

Rahul Gandhi has settled in well into his kurta-pajama look. The latest is, of course, the tricolour around his shoulders. Contrasted against his white kurta , this look is as secular as it can be. When you contrast it with Modi’s shoulders draped in saffron, the battle lines of imagery are clearly drawn, clothes first! Rahul’s dress sense seems to be solid today. He is looking comfortable, connected and real.

The Gandhi cap seems to be the hottest new symbol around. What do you make of it?

New Delhi

Shaili, yes, we have come full circle. The Gandhi cap is back again as a social and political symbol of some impact. The credit for this re-invention of the Gandhi cap goes to Anna Hazare, the India Against Corruption movement and the AAP in that order.

Today, there is a variety of Gandhi caps – the traditional white, the alternative cream, the green, the saffron, and expect one from the Congress soon that has saffron, white and green on it, perhaps. And what about a red one from the frontlines of communism?

The cap is noticed first as it sits on the head. As the human eye typically connects with another human eye first, what resides above it comes to instant notice. The cap is, therefore, a symbol of dominant value. Wearing it on a dhoti , a pair of trousers and shirt, on a bandhgala and even on a suit is not incongruous anymore. It is the new fashion symbol of much impact.

Gandhiji was a brilliant brand person. His cap, his round-rimmed glasses, his lathi , his charkha and indeed every accessory and aspect of his appearance have the possibility of being adopted as modern-day symbols of good intent. The Gandhi cap has reached its take-off stage, for sure.

India has seen different symbols dominate it over the decades since Independence. In the beginning it was the Gandhi cap, then the farmer’s till, then the soldier’s bayonet, after that the hammer and sickle and now we are back to the Gandhi cap.

The Gandhi cap has come to mean integrity, truth, honesty and is an antithesis of corruption. Those who don it must be careful to maintain its sanctity. If not, the symbol will be trampled upon as well.

What is brand reinvention? What is needed for it?

Bangalore

Rahil, brand reinvention to me means the ability to ‘re-think’. The ability to re-think strategy, tactics and an entire life-plan, even. Reinvention means moving your cheese. Reinvention means never being happy with what you have as well. To that extent reinvention is an impatient trait. A trait that is good in an ever-dynamic and ever-changing brand market. And which brand market isn't?

Those who re-invent themselves and their brands live and believe in the ‘power of now’. To an extent, however successful they or their brands have been, reinvention is a trait in those who believe their past success was but a flash-in-the-pan and that the future was totally fuzzy, and the only reality is the present. So, make the best of it. Do different things differently. Create a new success! Reinvention specialists do not bask in the glory of the past and are not deterred by the fright of the uncertain future, either. Reinvention evangelists think the language of the present. The present is all they have to play with. And they play with that well. Very well.

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