Is there such a thing as Bollywood fashion?

Ask fashion retailers or marketing gurus this & their answer would be Yes, Bollywood Fashion is very much there & it does influence the average, below average & yes, also the above average Indian Male. Bollywood has always influenced Indian fashion and continues to do so.

Bollywood has had some distinct eras of fashion. We do not take into account fashion before the 70’s but some in that era had distinct personal styles (Guru Dutt, the Kapoor brothers, Dev Anand to name a few)

Three remarkable eras of Bollywood fashion are:

• The Eastman Colors : Black, Red, White & Blue

• The 90’s: The Era of Fashion Disasters

• Beyond 2000: The Era of Packaging, PR & Stylist.

Bobby: Fashion Trend 101

Part One: The Eastman Colors

Fashion during Eastman color was in tones of Black, Red , White & Blue.

Black: Suite for office

Red: Shirt for Song

White: Funerals, please excuse Jitu Ji from this, he is Eternally Blanc... 

Blue: College & Picnics

Mithun Chakraborty Icon of 70's

This was the time of Bollywood Tailors, when clothes were decided by the Stars or the Director, the time when there was a Costume Dada & Make- up Kaka…

Fashion was
Romantic: Rishi Kapoor
Angry: Vinod Khanna, Amitabh Bachan
Tragic: KAKA, is it just me or that Belt over Shirt to hide the Blob underneath Genius.

The 80’s brought a whiff of fresh air on the fashion scene. The Time of Vintage Denims had arrived…. Kamala Hassan in SAAGAR or Mithun in his Dance Chronicles. The action heroes, Sunny Deol and Sanjay Dutt as well as Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff all sported jeans. Be it Anil Kapoor in Mashaal, Jaanbaaz, Tezaab, Ram Lakhan, Parinda or Jackie Shroff in Hero or Andar Baahar, they flaunted their jeans with aplomb. Bollywood  Heroes had clearly defined their style quotient. Denims were here to stay and how!!

True Bollywood Vintage
still from Saagar.

Point to note: In SAAGAR: Kamala Hassan depicted as Poor, was in Denims, and not just denims, he was in’ Denims on Denims’ ; while Rishi Kapoor the Rich kid dressed in Suits and boots!

Just watch that movie for its true vintage denims & Dimple K coming out of the water leaving Rishi Kapoor and every hot-blooded male mesmerized.

Vintage Ad

Or check out the sheer style of Jackie Shroff in denims as he seduces the oomph girl Moon Moon Sen in ‘Mausam Bada Suhana hai” from Andar Baahar. Jackie carried off his denims with flair, cos he knew a thing or two about fashion. He evolved his style well into the 90s and continued to reinvent his denim quotient. Check out his look in ‘Rangeela’ where he pairs Bandhini shirts with his denims. A lesser stylish actor could have easily faltered with this look.Which brings forth the point that confidence and style go hand in hand. But the 90s took away  focus from fashion in a big way for the masses and aping Bollywood fashion was  no more a trend.  The 80s star didn’t wanna fade away as the Khans came on the scene and set new parameters of fashion sensibilities…..

90’s The Doordarshan generation was fading & the era of Cable had begin . This was also the time of FASHION DISASTERS …

"I am The Original
HAWAS KA PUJARI..
Mother promise"

Upload pics of 90’s Bollywood Fashion faux pause on  facebook.com/lovethydenim & be a part of this ongoing  process of understanding Bollywood & Fashion..

PS: I have always wondered: In Bollywood, we have hardly seen any actress r*ped by Ranjeet in Denims, was it that in 80's the quality of zip was so bad that denims wont come off? or does being in denims protect women.

To Be Continued....

Coming Soon: 

Part Two: The 90's, Era of Fashion Divide.

Part Three: 2000 & Beyond: The Era of Packaging, PR & Stylist.