Courtesy of Playboy EnterprisesHugh Hefner, center, surrounded by Playboy Bunnies in the first Playboy Club in Chicago, in this 1960 photo.As the Playboy Club gets set to open in Goa this winter, its first venture in India, one pressing question keeps cropping up: What, exactly, will the bunnies wear?
(Yes, the club's opening also inspires other, more serious, questions about women, tolerance and propriety in India. More on that below.)
In a country where the introduction of American-style cheerleaders was quickly followed by orders that they put on some more clothes, the traditional cleavage-baring, wa ist-cinching, high-cut, bunny costume obviously had to be abandoned.
But … what to replace it with? India Ink spoke recently to Sanjay Gupta, the Indian businessman bringing the Playboy Club here, about the dilemma.
Mr. Gupta, whose 25 years of business experience includes work in the entertainment, metals and mining industries, said his PB Lifestyle is “working closely†now with Playboy executives about a redesigned costume more appropriate for India's standards of modesty.
How about a salwar kameez?
“Salwar kameez!†Mr. Gupta said. “That would be too modest.†Instead, he said, “think of a modern Indian woman,†when picturing the new outfit, one who “knows her way, who is educated and is assertive.†(Maybe a suit and trousers ensemble from Raymond's “Park Avenue†line, then?)
Another very important question: Will there be ears?
Mr. Gupta said he'd rather not comment, citing ongoing d iscussions with Playboy, but added, “We will be close to the traditional†outfit.
So, that must mean ears? “Yes, of course,†he conceded.
India's Playboy bunnies will be imports, to start, Mr. Gupta said - experts shipped in from the United States, Australia, Britain and other countries. “Bunnies are rigorously trained,†he said, from a Playboy Bunny manual, which includes “strict dos and don'ts†about their conduct.
Mr. Gupta said he plans to open 120 Playboy Clubs in India in the next decade, starting with a 32,000-square-foot location on the beach in Goa in December. Goa's chief minister has already promised to keep close watch on the club, looking for wrongdoing, making Mr. Gupta's plans sound ambitious.
India Ink couldn't help but wonder: In a country where the celebration of Valentine's Day inspires protests and where women who wear Western clothing are blamed when they are attacked by men, does it make sense to open a club staff ed by women in bunny outfits in the first place?
“The bunnies will not be serving drinks, they will be acting as hostesses,†Mr. Gupta said. “You have air hostesses, they are treated with respect,†he said, and the same will be true for the bunnies. “Bunnies are integral to the Playboy culture,†he said.
The Playboy bunny costume last got a serious redesign in 2005, when it was “subtly updated with S&M overtones†by the Milanese fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, ahead of the opening of a Las Vegas club. Mr. Cavalli swapped out the traditional cufflinks for “bondage-style†cuffs, and elongated the ears, giving them a “playful droop,†Ruth LaFerla wrote in The New York Times.
