Evolution of Fashion Industry in India
Passion for Fashion
How the fashions change? Where the Momentum starts? Where it reaches? Is there any fixed pattern in the process of evolution of Fashion world over? Finally is Fashion contagious?
Before answering the questions, let’s delve in to some fashion facts. And let’s start from distant yore.
The dictionary meaning of Fashion is ‘ A manner of doing something.” It may be anything related to a popular or the latest style of clothing, hair, decoration, or behaviour.
Fashion is a Cyclic phenomenon.
Fashion Gurus and Design experts are of the opinion every trend in fashion repeats itself in a span of 20 years. Take the case of Salwars and Kameezes.
We have seen how Salwars become Chudidars, followed by straight cuts and trouser cuts. If you take a look at the sleeves, the same pattern repeats. Earlier sleeveless have gone in to oblivion but they staged a comeback after a period of time. From this one can expect the cycle of’ Disappearing and Reappearing’ of fashions like seasons.
Historical evidence of Fashion in India.
It’s a wrong belief that Fashion was born in the west. Indian fashion dates back to Mohenjo-daro civilization. The earliest preliminary version or prototype was found in the statue of Mother Goddess.. The statue depicts, Mother Goddess wearing a small cloth around her waist. Her torso was covered with jewels.
Further, we can see from the works of Arab and Chinese travelers who recorded vividly about the Indian costumes in vogue during their visit. These accounts show how the famous clothes like Muslin of Dhaka inspired awe in them.
With the passage of time, men’s clothing have undergone a big change compared to the women’s sari.
With the turn of Fifteenth century, styles of wearing a sari have come in to vogue. In the later part, after the Mughal invasion, the trend of ‘Salwar Kameez’ started which even today is a famous wear. Of course after undergoing several changes.
Anyhow , the modern sari wearing trend was first introduced in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
Then came the British regime.
After the arrival of the British East India company, the fashion scenario has changed in India. Indians were profoundly influenced by the dresses and costumes worn by the British residents and their families.
During the British rule, the seeds of early fashion revolution were sown in India. Men quickly switched over to suits. Women being traditional could not dare to jump to Skirts and blouses of Western style as easily as men. But the changes were visible in the women’s attire Cholis.
With the arrival of British India, a plethora of fashions from other European countries also arrived. In this context we should have a look at the European fashions and their evolution in order to understand how those fashions influenced the fashion scenario of India.
Roaring Twenties.
1920s are well known as ‘Roaring Twenties’ in the fashion parlances. This decade is known as ‘Charleston Era’ in the fashion world. This decade is said to be the starting point of ‘Modern Era’ in fashions. In this period women discarded restricted fashions and switched over to comfortable clothes such as skirts and trousers. The most important trend in the ‘Roaring Twenties’ was women preferred to wear Boyish look. As part of this trend Eton- cropped hairstyle came in to vogue.
Cholis in India started looking like the shimmering glitz and flash of Charleston Dresses. They were long sleeved and were made using lace,satin and silk or even cotton. Saris made with Georgette and Chinese silk became a big raze. The blouses were embellished with long sleeves. And of course these were invariably covered with the top of the sari. The sari was worn generally in the normal and usual style or Gujarati style.
There will be an exception always. Daring women used to wear blouses with short sleeves. Head was modestly covered with the Pallav or the end of the sari.
Post Wall street Crash.
After the great depression and the Wall street crash, came the 30s. The Bonnie and Clyde look entered the fashion world with a big Bang. Bonnie and Clyde look signifies daring and flamboyant attitude. Hemlines descended to mid calves. Suits appeared with high belted and flared skirts started making waves in the fashion world.
At the fag end of 30s, came the close fitting caps sans brims. Padded shoulders came in to boost the stooping shoulders. Long collars, two piece suits and pinched waists made their way.
Between 1940 and ’45 when Paris, the citadel of fashions was isolated due to war, the fashion scenario in America and Britain has become listless and dull. ‘Austerity’ was observed religiously in the fashion world. ‘Mend’ whatever you have has become the norm of the day.
At Home.
With the starting of Independence movement in 40’s, many revolutions took place in the fashion scene of India. Erstwhile Japanese georgettes and Chiffons gone in to oblivion giving way to Khadi and hand woven saris
Post war.
With the end of World war, Paris bounced back. The fashions after the war took a new turn. Christian Dior has occupied the center stage of fashions. He made the entire fashion world stunned with groundbreaking creations of Mid calf pencil-slim skirt, pinched waist, Padded shoulders and padded hips. The fashion lovers went gaga over the creations.
But the women of Post independence were tired.The stylized woman society of Post independence refused to follow the revolutionary changes took place in Paris or elsewhere in the fashion world. They were tired of imitating the west. The Indian women suddenly thought about their own rich heritage and decided to be the trendsetters and trailblazers.With this change, the Indian woman turned her attention towards her blouse. Consequently it became short, though well within the limits of modesty and decency. It was referred to as Choli. And the western additions made way to a new style known as Katori.
Katori style was not altogether a new style though. Rural women of India were well conversed with Katori style. Katori blouse has an inbuilt arrangement to do uplifting. That means Katori blouse is a No – bra Choli. The neck usually was deep. The sleeves stretched below the elbow. The choli is enriched with rich embroidery and sequins.
The sari was wrapped loosely around the body with the end of the sari or Pallav reaching up to ankles.
Now the Indian designers started giving importance to the back of the choli. As a result, the hairstyle has undergone a change in order to give a full view of the newly acquired shape and embellishments of the Back of the Choli.
Mini Skirt, sensation of the Sixties.
Generally, majority of the fashions take birth from the Fashion center of the world Paris. Astonishingly, London created the sensation in the Sixties with its creation, the Mini skirt, that took the entire world by storm. Mini skirt has exposed the legs of the eve like never before. Mini skirt has shown the resplendent splendor of woman’s legs in all its glory.
A turning point in the Indian fashion world.
Though the introduction of Mini Skirt has caught the imagination of the entire world, Indian woman being basically traditional could not dare to switch over to Mini skirt. Instead, explored to enhance the beauty of it’s own Salwar- Kameez. Consequently the Kammez rose upwards a few inches above the knee. During the same time synthetic dress making materials like Nylons gained prominence. Nylons are crease proof and easy to wash.
The saris till now which had heavy borders till then gave way to printed Nylons and polysters. And the long Pallay which used to reach up to the ankles shortened. At the same time the sari tucking moved down considerably. A daring woman now a days tucks her sari much below the navel.
In its bid to give a new dimension to its own traditional wear, Indian woman besides the above changes in Sari wearing, she has changed the hair styles also. In this process Sharmila Tagore, the film star’s hair style has attracted the fashion lovers. It’s not all, another film star Sadhana became a prominent figure in the fashion world with her skin-tight sleeveless Kameez and Churidar.
By the time 70s arrived, both Sari and Choli had undergone several changes. Most of them stayed for a short stint. But Sari consolidated it’s place in the fashion scenario more than ever. But before this Sari wearing and sari tucking had seen several changes. Out of them Coorgi style has earned a name for its daring way of wrapping around the body.
Corrgi style of wearing involves wearing a sari without a choli. Another style that was in vogue for some time was ‘Butterfly style of wearing the sari. This style involves wearing the sari by knotting it below bare shoulders. The other style was Lungi style. In Lungi style the sari was worn by draping it twice around and under bare shoulders. Among these styles, Coorgi style which was too sexy looking gone out of the picture. Though the Butterfly and Lungi styles remained, they were restricted to ramps only.
The sari ultimately came of age and found its right place in the Indian fashion scenario. It was no more a piece of cloth of six yards draped on the body. It has metamorphosed in to a seductive garment with infinite possibilities. Though the Mini sari worn above the knee made its appearance was not accepted. After a short stint disappeared from the scenario.
Ultimately the comfortable Gujarati style of wearing the sari, “Ulta Pallav” won the acceptance of the women all over India.
In Mid eighties, Indian fashion scenario had undergone an amazing metamorphosis. The highly creative Indian designers made the world look towards India. It has become a force to reckon with. Now India has become strong enough to build its own brand in par with reputed brands of the world. The momentum paved way for a hi- fashion boom.
The era of Fashion Show.
Fashion houses in the west display their latest creations on live models held in the Fashion shows periodically. The practice was not there in India as it was not equipped with Fashion houses during early 80s. With the boom in the fashion industry India too followed the suit but with changes. Instead of fashion houses, the Fashion shows were sponsored by well known and reputed Mills.
The first Fashion show ever held in India.
It was in the year 1930, there was an outlet known as Pompadour gowns in Pune. The owner of the outlet was one Catherine Courtney. She has presented her collections in aid of local charities. Later in the year 1932, the Taj Mahal hotel presented a fashion show where the collections of Catherine Courtney were displayed. After this historical event, the display of Catherine’s creations has become a regular event. Taj Mahal hotel made it a biennial event.
Catherine Courtney is a bundle of energy endowed with unlimited Creativity. In her shows, she will be seen in every place and in every spot right from the designing the clothes, selecting the right models, choosing the type of music. And not to forget the compeering the show. During those days, she used to face problems in getting the Indian models.
Owing to this reason, Catherine used to get her Models from European or Anglo Indians or from the Parsi community.
First Fashion show on a Tourist Ship.
The year 1940 has witnessed another Landmark event in the Fashion scenario. When the S.S Caronia, a tourist liner anchored in the port of Mumbai, Pompadour presented its creations on board. In the same fashion show on Board, the first ever Indian Model Shakuntala Sharma was presented. Shakuntala Sharma with her grace, poise and Vivacity has become an instant hit.
She always used to wear Sari in her shows. From her instant success, she never looked back . The English media hailed her success.
In 1950s, Fashion shows in India have become regular occurrences. These fashion shows were not just restricted to fashion displays. They were used for raising funds for noble causes too.
Spencer Sisters.
When the Fashion shows gained full momentum in India, Spencer Sisters made an appearance on the scenario. Their fashion shows added a new dimension. Sylla and Nergish, the Spencer sisters made their presence known with their fund raising show for the blind at the bungalow of late Sir A.C.P. Wadia in Mumbai. The short charity show has collected One Lakh Rupees. With this Fashion event, Indian Fashion shows have emerged have become full fledged commercial shows.
Famous mills held innumerable Fashion shows with Sylla and Nergish. They became the two big names in the Fashion world.
The most astonishing factor is Sylla and Nergish were neither the designers nor the choreographers. Despite this fact, the Spencer Sisters by virtue of their Sheer Managerial acumen presented nearly 2000 shows. Their shows spread to Russia, Sri Lanka, Africa, Yugoslavia and Singapore.
In a strange coincidence, while their show ‘Maids of the Nile ball’ was going on, Egypt President Nasser visited India. President Nasser was bowled seeing the show to such an extent that he presented an Egyptian ceramic vase and some Egyptian cotton to the Spencer Sisters.
Sylla comperes the show while Nergish looks after the models and the designing part. This team worked perfectly and it lasted for 30 years successfully. With the death of Sylla, the team’s journey has come to an end.
Jeannie Naoroji and Hilla Divecha made a dramatic entry in to the Indian fashion world. The fashion shows which were smooth or a bit lackluster were dramatically metamorphosed in to a fare of glaring and dazzling strobe lights, a riot of music and mesmerizing stage settings.
The duo Jeannie and Hilla not only made stage shows for every major mill in India but also made shows beyond the borders of India. They put the Map of India in the Global world of fashion. The most notable change brought by the duo in to the fashion world is making the Models walk with bare foot while displaying Indian traditional creations like Saris, Salwar Kameezes and Ghagra cholis.
But while Jeannie’s efforts to add glitz and shine to the shows, the main theme of displaying the clothes took a back seat. The gracious ramp walk has become virtually dancing floor to the beat of the accompanying music. These factors made the fashion shows in to Dancing recitals.
As if to rectify the Lapses in the fashion shows made by Jeannie and Hilla, a mother and daughter duo appeared on the horizon of the Fashion world of India.
Shanti and Sangeeta Chopra.
With just one show, made for S. Kumar in the year 1978, this mother and daughter duo was catapulted to the pinnacles of glory in the Indian fashion world.
Their speciality and uniqueness
Their specialty and uniqueness iies in the fact that their organizational prowess was not constricted to Fashion Shows alone. They have shown the same capabilities in Organizing the shows to promote Beverages, magazines and anything and everything you name.Together they organized 1000 plus shows of all kinds. Their aim was to change the face of very idea of Fashion Shows in India.
They emphasize the fact that choreography,music and stage embellishments should be woven like a well knitted fabric. In turn, they expect the entire show should run like well oiled machine.The duo doesn't believe in entering the Ramp directly just before the show. They insist on rehearsals. Every single component of the show should be tested and checked for their accurate functioning.
And in return the artists are well paid. The artists who work for the duo will be rewarded with the fattest of the pay packets. Owing to this reason all the top models show utmost inclination to work for the shows of Shanti and Sangeeta Chopra.
In this process, the duo made the commentary under go drastic changes. Just the bare minimum of the commentary. Not a single syllable extra or irrelevant.
They retained their position of 'Numero Uno' even up to 90s. But they have become terribly selective
Chopra Associates the company of the duo were associated with big names like Helpage India. The mother and daughter duo varied the locations of the show in tune with the type of company's specialty and uniqueness.
Hemant Trivedi.
Hemant is a combo of a Designer, Choreographer and Stylist. Ever since he entered the Fashion scenario in the year 1979, he has produced thousand shows. His first show was made for Raymond's. Hemant Trivedi is probably the only successful male organizer in the Fashion industry of India.
Hemant’s shows are well choreographed shows. But he takes utmost care not to submerge the garments, the main item of the show with choreography, music and a host of stage paraphernalia.
Lubna Adam.
A model herself, Lubna Adam has become talk of the fashion world in the 90s. As a model Lubna had hundreds of successful fashion shows to her credit. Her quality in assimilating and updating herself with the current and latest happenings pertaining to fashion around the world gave her a cutting edge over others in the business. This trait helped her in organizing shows for not only for Mills, fashion houses and designers but also products not related to fashion like beverages, shoes and even cigarettes successfully.
Mills too contributed in their own way.
It's not just the Models, Designers, choreographers and the fashion show organizers, famous Mills like Tata Textiles, Hakoba mills, Calico mills to name a few too contributed in a big way to the promotion of Fashion in India.
In the year 1961, Tata textiles held a Fashion week at Mumbai to promote its summer fabrics. A bevy of renowned models took part in the show. The highlight of the show was the participation of former Miss India, 1958, Iona Pinto who was pregnant then. She modeled for maternity wear.
On the other side, Calico mills came up with a novel idea to stage their fashion shows on mobile stage. Instead of a stationary stage, Calico mills created a travelling dome for their fashion shows that toured India from 1958 to 1984. The travelling dome was created by the famed American architect Buckminister Fuller
For the Mumbai fashion lovers it was altogether a new and thrilling experience when the dome was erected to hold a fashion show in the grounds of Wilson college in April 1958.
The Pioneers.
All those I mentioned above mostly worked in a field that’s already existing. That is they walked in a familiar terrain. Pioneers are a different breed. They neither hesitated nor backtracked to step in to unknown territories. They made a mark of their own in a profession that is altogether different from Indian culture and the traditions.In this process they faced several hindrances.
But they did not give up. They, with their immense faith in themselves and undaunted will worked their way against all the odds.
Because of their dedicated and single-minded dedication, the Indian fashion industry today bows before them with reverence and regard.
Catherine Courtney.
As a young girl, while she was walking on the roads of Paris long ago, she has seen a Hat shop named Pompadour. Then and there, the little girl has sown the seeds of pursuing a career in the sphere of Fashion and name her venture as ‘ Pompadour’.From then, her chase to pursue her career was so strong that she has realized her dream in Mumbai. She has the distinction of “The first woman to start a fashion Show in India.’ She was the first to have held a fashion show on an ocean liner.
Dinoo Dosabhoy.
She was the first to have started the career of ‘ Fashion Sketching’ in the fashion field of India. Her sketches formed the basis for creating the most vibrant creations by the Fashion Designers in India.
The other luminaries who made a niche of their own in the Indian Fashion world are
Ritu Kumar
Ritu Kumar shot to fame with her very first Boutique established in Calcutta in the year 1968. She has done a vast research in ‘Zardosi’. She had revived the grandiose of Mughal costumes. Her greatest contribution is, she has saved the exotic Chikan craft work from extinction.
Bina Ramani
She is one those rare designers who is well familiar to Western fashion industry. Because she exhibited her creations in the famous Bloomingdale and in Europe. She started her first exhibition of creations of western formal wear in America, one of the citadels of Fashions. She is well known for merging the eastern fashions with that of western fashions.
Rabi and Mina Chawla.
Their greatness lies in the fact that neither Rabi Chawla nor his wife Mina never had any formal background in any wings of Fashion designing.
Chawla was an employee of a shipping company and his wife was an assistant manager at Ashoka hotel , Delhi. They were the Epitome of firm determination to excel in the fashion field. And they have done it with alomb.
Khorshed Panthaky
Proud winner of the Ninth Carson Pierie Scott scholarship in 1971. Khorshed won the Harris Bank and Trust award in the same year for designing uniform designs. The fact that Barbara Streisand , the celebrated American singer and writer was clean bowled by Khorshed’s collection speaks volumes of her mettle.
Pallavi Jaikishen.
A shy but talented wife of the late Music director Jaikishen preferred to lie in the backdrop until she became thunderous success as one of the top designers in the country. She shot in to fame with her open show Gitterati, Mumbai.
James Perreira.
James Perreira is a short tempered, high profile fashion designer. He doesn't believe in creating his own label. Rather he prefers to allow his creations to speak, not his labels. He believes, to be a successful designer 90 percent hardworking and just 10 percent skill is required. He refuses to contribute to the popular belief that a designer's popularity is measured by the amount of clothes he sells. An outspoken and forthright designer. That's the uniqueness of Perreira.
Bhanu Athaiya.
She thrives on challenges. The more the job is challenging, the more her talents emerge out. Her Oscar award for her work for Gandhi speaks of Bhanu Attaiah’s superb skills in designing in all the glowing terms.
There are a host of such trend setters. And but for these, the fashion industry would not have become a force to reckon with in the World today.
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