Devi is Divine

My senior year of college,  after having fulfilled all my major requirements, I rewarded myself by taking a class in Rajasthani and Mughal art. At the time, I knew nothing about India apart from what I had seen in the movie Monsoon Wedding. So I was truly blown away when I learned about the Gods; Brahman, Shiva, Vishnu, Devi, Parvati, Lakshmi, Rama, Sita, Krishna, Radha, Kali, and infinite other forms. 

Hindu mythology and the art it inspires, is an exercise in the fantastic, the romantic, and the psychedelic.  The art is a visual representation of poetic verse, largely inspired by the epic tales of the Ramayana and Mahabharata.  Enjoy this fashion homage to the Goddess Devi in all of Her forms.

Just a quick disclaimer, these photos are inspired by Indian myths and art, they are not meant as actual depictions of the Indian people or culture.

Photographed by Nick Shepard

Assisted by Andra Georges

Styling and art direction by Annie Shepard

Modeled by Laura Schneider and Annie Shepard

Little Bombay

I make no secret of my Indiaphilia. The food! The colors! The Bollywood dance! While I have never been to India, my mom and I ventured out to Jackson Heights today, which is as close as I can get without hopping on a plane. I am doing an Indian inspired photoshoot tomorrow so this was a perfect excuse to browse the Indian fashion houses.

The first stop was lunch at Rajbhog Sweets, a no fuss shop specializing in "60 plus varieties of milk-based confections." We went straight to the savories, for under $20 we got daals, rotis, biryani, saag, tomatoes, and much more. Yum yum yum. Freshly sated we were off!. I went looking for a Tikka and wound up falling in love with one sari and buying two others at India Sari Palace. Look for them in an upcoming shoot!

I hope that these pictures inspire you to hop on the 7 out to Little Bombay.

Chanel x India

I'm usually not a huge fan of Chanel (Gasp!), I find it a bit overblown and staid. But I'm loving Karl's pre-fall Indian inspired collection with gold foil and ivory silks complemented by tikkas and absurd amounts of jewlery.  Now I'm just waiting for the day when a white girl can pull off a sari, off the runway of course.

Images via Style.com

Check out some Indian looks brought to you by Neon Mamacita

More after the Jump!