CWG opening ceremony: Indian women deserved better than the unisex attire. Call it a post-Black Panther-swag, the African nations sparkled in their jewellery

India’s smart indigo formal blue will always remain a standout on international sporting rampways of Games opening ceremonies. Hockey Olympic medallist Manpreet Singh and his classy sky blue turban went perfectly on the camera’s long lens too. Wearing unisex sherwanis marked the Indian contingent out into neat geometrical uniformity, though Indian cuts have enough and more variety than to fall back on the Mandarin collar & buttoned Chinese front styling pattern that Manyavar rolled out. The Indians had floral, embroidered stand up collars. Loose straight cut lower whites were the only option.

But it begs the question why India would make its fittest female athletes wear shapeless Sherwani iterations, when the country teems with dressy dazzles in women’s fashion. Modern, easy-to-wear colourful takes on the salwar kameez or a lehenga or a sharara or the gorgeous pattu pavadai from Tamil Nadu (or Langa Davani in Karnataka or Langavoni in Andhra Pradesh) or Kerala’s Kasavu or Manipuri phanek — the block colour sherwani, simply screamed an opportunity lost to showcase India’s thousand pretty weaves and fabrics.It’s considered a step forward from the tyranny of the saree that used to cause needless and major anxiety to female athletes earlier. But this was just lazy lumping of all athletes into one set pattern. Indian women deserve better.

The athletes of India enter the stadium during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Formal bermudas. Pink please

Longer than shorts, shorter than trousers, loose and comfy and thoroughly casual used to be the descriptor when bermudas first showed up in India in mid-80s. The British overseas territory of Bermuda actually wore the Bermudas – in a pretty salmon pink colour tone, combined with a tee and jacket. Known for its pink sand beaches, the island chose the most pastel of hues for their formal bermudas, but Bermudans in bermudas was the chuckle. Ironed and formal ceremonial bermudas. Who’d’ve thunk?

Sparkling jewels

Some of the African nations turned it on, with accessories, such as the traditional flowing tunics and gowns, the silk boubous stayed a basic monochrome. But the female athletes brought out the continent’s best jewels – neckpieces and flowing chains, sparkling jewels and earrings and danglers, even gleaming gold intricate headpieces to strut around in a regal fashion. Call it a post-Black Panther-swag or simply letting the full ethnic razzmatazz flow, but the likes of Kenya, tipped to light up the Alexander Stadium in coming days on the track, shone like stars, bringing out the jewels in a city known for its jewellery quarter.

The athletes of South Africa enter the stadium during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

South Africa’s chevron skirts

South Africa tends to work around the green, yellow, colour scheme, and looks for a neat meld of African and European fusion in its textiles. They got it swell this time, with pretty long ankle-grazing skirts in a green yellow horizontal chevron pattern with white blouses for the women. The men had the vertical zigzags on their half sleeve shirts, with black pants. A lot of fashion gets translated differently on television and inside the stadium. But the South African skirts looked quite neat and a tidy trim altogether as the contingent walked out.

Scottish tartans – in blue this time – were the other eye-catching pattern this time. A welcome relief after their 2014 Games controversy when thousands signed a petition to ditch the turquoise, fuchsia and navy tartan outfits.

The athletes of England enter the stadium during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Tracksuits & handstands

While plenty of countries opted to walk in their official tracksuits, England had a hybrid – beige slacks and red jackets on white shirts, across the board. The host team expected to garner the most partisan cheers was expected to move into the athlete’s parade like one juggernaut. And the sea of red bobbed around with an initial halo created with graffiti showered and exploding in their wake.

But it was the Canadians, who also got some of the loudest cheers, who declared that you don’t need to dress up for a party. In their own red tracks, the Canadian gymnasts decided to pass the flag march for a few metres on acrobatic handstands – only possible in tracksuits. Dancing away and grooving to the music, it didn’t matter what they wore, but how much they enjoyed the athlete’s spotlight and loved the catwalk, some of it with hindlegs suspended in air and hands doing all the walking.

Australia’s team members enter the stadium during the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, Thursday, July 28, 2022. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Aus’ Peaky Blinders

Australia eschewed their bright yellow or usual pinstriped grogging green and went muted, in a hat-tip to Birmingham based hit show Peaky Blinders. The gangsta hit of the 1900s with its dulled olive green and beige/khaki three-piece sharpsuits and waistcoats plus brown brogues looked like a tribute to Tommy Shelby and his men. Always dressed sharp, the Shelby family has kept an identifiable colour tone over the various seasons. And though the newsboy caps were missing, the England – Australia rivalries promise to stay razor sharp, even without the hidden blades when competition gets underway.