India, May 17 -- Can fashion give us the theory of everything? (Stop reading if you happen to be a fashion denier. Or maybe swallow your pride and go on!) The answer is a resounding, enthusiastic yes. How and why people clothe themselves is not just a matter of vain curiosity; it tells us everything about the arts and the science of their life and times. Human beings are storytellers first, and everything else follows. Sartorial choices and compulsions, therefore, are stories written on bodies.

The fashion press is still recovering from two global events - the Met Gala and the Cannes Film Festival - which draw even the most uninterested towards the clothes conversations. The unaffordability of what is displayed on the red carpet may appe...