Independence Day Special: Tracing the evolution of fashion in India through Indian cinema
Starting from 50's fashion - the Golden Age of Indian Cinema
India was shaping up and so does cinema. The fashion of films was modest and simple and mostly showed rural India, and most of this era was ruled by a saree with a modest fitted blouse, a long skirt with a blouse and a dupatta.
1960s – A era of Sadhna cut and Mumtaaz
The most stylish era of Bollywood. We got Anarkali, Sadhna cut, Mumtaaz saree and whatnot. Madhubala became the epitome of beauty & Meena Kumari's silk sarees had everyone's heart
1970s fashion - An era of romance and hippie culture
The era of action films - was full of romance and hippie culture. Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor & their angry man & lover boy looks become the staple fashion of boys. Meanwhile, Bollywood leading ladies did a big experiment with their sartorial choices. Zeenat Aman debuted a retro hippie look. While others sizzled on the screen with their bikinis.
80's - Era of Sheer and shiny garments
Now comes the '80s Sheer and shiny garments like chiffon and crepe with lots of sequins become girls' favourites. Rekha and Sridevi were glamorous icons on the screen of this decade. The disco dancer era was high on colours, glitter and jewellery.
The 1990s Bollywood Fashion
Like the economy, Bollywood also got a reformThis decade was full of films on college romance, romantic comedies, and family dramas. We also got suits & sarees. Plus west inspired fashion and short dresses, maxi, denim jackets, jumpers came into fashion with the films like Karan Johar’s Kuch Kuch Hota Hain.
A lot of fusion wear, we can say.
The 21st century fashion
This decade was a mix of ethnic and Western styles. Aishwarya, Kareena & Priyanka wore clothes that had dangerously short hemlines. Extra crop tops, mini skirts, dresses, backless cholis, and bikinis become heroine staple wear. Aishwarya's looks, Priyanka's desi girl saree and Kareena's Poo dress are still every girl's favourites.
The 2010s fashion
In this decade we got female-centric stories. Kangana Ranaut's 'Queen' becomes everyone's favourite, and actresses like Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Richa Chadha, and Taapsee Pannu got their breakthrough and introduced girl-next-door fashion. Padukone’s kurta and jeans look with kohl eyes become the first choice of every office-going woman, and Alia’ Shanya introduced the chick look to college girls. In this decade, we also got a bunch of female-centric stories that celebrated women's empowerment.
The 2020s - Pandemic era
A pandemic decade. Not just cinema, now we have OTT and social media as our fashion influencers. However, in the first three years of this decade, we got to see a lot of realistic cinema with a transformation to dramatic Bollywood. In the first two years, Taapsee Pannu and Kangana Ranaut's looks in Tappadd and Panga, respectively, became everyone's favourite. However, this year, Karan Johar made his return to the director's chair after a gap of seven years with Rocky aur Rani.. - the film brought back the magic of chiffon sarees.
Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, comfortable pyjamas have become everyone's first choice for fashion. So dress in whatever you feel like, everything is fashionable!
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