India's Playboy Bunny Hops onto World Stage
With rabbit ears intact, India's new Playboy Bunny outfit-the only one in the world to have its standard design altered to suit local culture-has had its big reveal. And it's not nearly as modest as you might have expected.
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The new costume, created by designer Mohini Tadikonda and presented at a Mumbai press conference this week, includes the bowtie collar and bunny ears, but, rather than the thigh revealing leotard-style bodice, has a snug corset that stops above the bellybutton. A long, draped black chiffon skirt covers the legs, while a thin, matching sheer strip drapes over one shoulder, all mimicking the look of a sari-albeit a very revealing one.
"My biggest challenge fell below the waist," Tadikonda told the Mumbai Mirror, an English daily in India. "At first, I wasn't sure how to work around the his exposure that is iconic to the American Bunny costume. The upper portion of the bustier was not an issue and I was able to leave that untouched. I knew that the hip had to be covered, so I developed concepts that addressed the questionable area while still allowing an illusion of exposure."
Playboy founder Hugh Hefner gave final approval to the sexy server outfits, created by US-based designer Mohini Tadikonda for the sprawling new Playboy Club on the beach in Candolim, in Goa, set to open in early 2013. The Indian company PB Lifestyle will operate the club franchise, and plans to open more Playboy clubs around the country. It agreed to alter the standard bunny uniform to be more in line with India's obscenity laws, which are vague. But public kissing is considered taboo in the country, and Playboy magazine is banned there.
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"We are clear about one thing: There will absolutely be no nudity," PB Lifestyle CEO Sanjay Gupta told the India Times. "The bunnies will be suited to Indian sensibilities and moral values." And, while the bunnies at the new Goa club will all be foreign women for now, "we are open to hiring Indian women too," the CEO noted.
The style of the Indian bunny uniform has been at the center of controversy and speculation since the November announcement of the club opening. Both the country's chief minister, Monahar Parrikar, and head of Goa tourism, Dilip Parulekar, questioned the move, worrying that the club would lead to wanton ways. "We will not entertain anyone who is here to spread obscenity and nudity," Parulekar had announced.
This week, Gupta acknowledged that the timing for the bunny-outfit launch was particularly unfortunate in the wake of the brutal gang rape of a young woman in New Delhi, which has sparked public outrage across the country. "Clearly this is a stray incident by people with sick minds," he told the UK Telegraph. "Of course we condemn it but we don't feel there is a connection really. It's just unfortunate timing, that's all."
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