Hailing a sporty chic- fashion trends

F ROM A sequinned Ganesha stretched from one shoulder-blade to the other or gun-shot corduroy coats to just shredded denim pat terns, men's coats are going from sporty to sportier to dressy chic. This week saw designer Narendra Ahmed unveil his Spring Summer Collection at men's only fashion store Ayamik. Now what stands out in this line is the fact that the designer has so subtly created a fusion of tailored straight lines, narrow lapels and sharp cuts that the fashion world is moving towards, with shredded motifs, for a range of jackets that are well, as we like to say, perfect to "hide a crumpled shirt after a long day at the office".

What we're talking about aren't the plain velvet coats or the white tuxedo jackets – all of which have found takers on the party scene this year. It's as much about the drama that the staid sports jacket is not only becoming increasingly associated with, but also the high design element in them. One of the best pieces of Narendra Ahmed's collection was a white linen jacket with light appliqu work.

According to Ahmed, this is the general direction that men's fashion seems to be headed in. "People are tired of wearing the same old Tshirts and denims just everywhere. The young and sporty look mar ried to formal lines is the look to be in for the next season." The party boys, couldn't agree more. The likes of Jimmy Shergill are already giving the 'patch' treatment to their tweed jacket, while those like Ashish Chaudhary pull out all designer stops to line up their white jackets with gold studs for a rather Elvis—styled look…again pleasures that had so far been reserved only for the leather biker jackets and the all-weather denim jackets.

An indication of the way things are heading? Will the dressy sports jacket be the new denim jacket? Well, that's what the boys around town are saying…to each other.

The fact that sports coats en masse are in this season is well established. We'd caught SRK and Co. migrating into the realm of velvet coats while others like John Abraham crossed over into the fold of the tux jacket wearers (over a pair of denims of course!). Hell, every international fashion house from Dolce and Gabbana's Fall Winter runway to Givenchy and Louis Vuitton had given the move to sports jackets a two thumbs up while the interna tional press had hailed the trend in capital letters.

And, though Hugo Boss may have left the Boss Green range (Green houses most of their casual sports coats) back home when they launched in Mumbai —the fact that they (sports coats) are what the desi 'It' men are wearing for a party around town — must have them kicking themselves where it hurts the most – down there in the cash box.