When Bollywood eclipses Fashionistas

Back in 2007, Bollywood was pumping out future stars and the concept of the ‘100 Crore Club’ didn’t exist. The most exciting movie of the year, Jab We Met had just released in theatres. And within weeks, the movie had created frenzy within the younger demographic of the country. Kareena Kapoor’s chirpy character, Geet, impressed everyone with her infectious self-confidence. But for the few of us who fixate more on wardrobe than plot, we fell in love with her outfits.

Geet wore light denims and short Kurtis. Her staple piece, however, were Harem pants, a form of baggy lowers, caught at the angle. Very similar to Patialas (which is where the character happens to be from), the pants had both style and comfort. Soon enough, Harem pants were everywhere to be seen.That year, runways and roads alike, saw an abundance of the trend.

This isn’t the first instance of film influencing fashion in India. Cinema is a very powerful tool to affect trends. But in most cases, it complements the fashion scene. In India, fashion is almost synonymous with Bollywood. Bollywood is almost an extension of the fashion industry.

In the 70s, the word fashion meant clothes worn by personalities like Dimple Kapadia, Zeenat Aman and Amitabh Bacchan. Movies like Bobby and Hare Rama Hare Krishna had a great impact on people’s clothing, hair do and make-up. The 80s had their own set of trendsetters in film industry like Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt etc. The 90s were a big decade for fashion, not just in the country but worldwide. The decade saw three girls from the country winning global pageants. The 90s also meant a rise of fashion designers like Suneet Verma and Manish Malhotra. The 2000s were dominated by Manish Malhotra, and his uncanny ability of making all of Bollywood’s sartorial dreams come true.

Even today, for a lot of aspiring fashion designers and stylists, the ultimate dream remains to be a part of the glamour of the Film industry. Bollywood works as both a patron, as well as an agent to Indian fashion. Designers invite celebrities to walk their runways, while film directors bank on designers to lend style to movie characters.

Media coverage of fashion shows talks only of celebrities who attended, and stars that walked the runway. “Every designer wants celebrities to walk their shows. It’s a great marketing tactic and attracts attention from the media. And on the flipside, designers also gain popularity and recognition by working on movies’’, says Meeta Gulati, a fashion designer from Delhi. It is true that celebrities are idolised by commoners. For designers and stylists alike, a stamp of approval from a Bollywood heroine or hunk means marketing.

However, some people believe that the association makes fashion one dimensional. Pooja Chichlikar, a stylist says, “When someone mentions Indian fashion, we see images of bright lehengas and dresses. There is much more to Indian fashion than we see through these tinted glasses. The close interdependence between the fashion industry and Bollywood has left a very stereotypical image in most minds. Indian fashion is not just Bollywood, but it seems as if the boundaries between the two are blurring.”

“When a Bollywood actor wears designer clothing, a common man feels he can also catch on to the trend. In a very unusual way, Indians worship Bollywood stars. Anything they do, we want to do as well.” Says Mamta Sharma Das, a fashion blogger, based in Kolkata.

Of course, Bollywood stars exercise immense influence on our day to day lives. People want to know Deepika Padukone’s workout regime, Kareena Kapoor’s diet and Disha Patani’s skincare routine. But sometime within all this intermingling of the two industries, the real heroes get lost. Das adds, “Famous faces bring marketing and money. But they also end up diverting attention from the real star- the clothes. Take the fashion weeks, for instance, no one acutely remembers any collection in detail. However, we all remember that Alia Bhatt and Ranveer Singh danced on the runway.”

It is hard to conduct a conversation about Indian fashion without somehow mentioning Bollywood. Both industries are well established, however, the fashion scene somehow finds itself floating within Bollywood. As both cinema and fashion evolve, there is scope for disintegration between the two, or maybe even a stronger connection. But if Indian fashion industry has to chalk out a its distinct place, it will have to create a solid identity of its own beyond Bollywood.