Curves ahead

Wouldn't it be nice if the world really took to heart the catchline of the newest little car in town and announced that ‘curves are back' ? Think of all the industries and businesses that would then automatically take a turn for the better too. More cloth for clothes, more metal for cars, more cement for buildings, can only mean more growth curves too — for balance sheets. For far too long the world has fashionably trod the straight and narrow, whether by design or coincidence. As a result , from roads and houses, couture and interior decoration , everything has been whittled down to the very barest of essentials and the sparest of lines.

Even economies across the globe have shrunk, as if in consonance with the general squeeze on curves of any kind. So much so that by the end of the first decade of the 21st century, a marked departure from the grand domed edifices and grande dames of the 20th, is evident. Buildings and supermodels alike, increasingly resemble needles today. The silhouettes of socialites and their cars are symbiotically pared down, as are their aerodynamic pets and perfume bottles. The prevailing mantra is so severely ‘linear' , that the repercussions are even felt at the alimentary level, as square plates on square tables reduce wellrounded and expansive diets to spartanly insufficient square meals. No wonder the svelte model in the advertisement that announced that curves are back, vengefully and lustfully munches her way through an entire dining-table laden with victuals, solo.

It must be added though, that heralding the return of curves to a car is an easier exercise than extending it to a vision for the coming decade. All that the former needs is an updated retro design and a clever ad campaign ; for everything else, the road back to healthy curves means far more all-round effort!