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Invoking the goddess of style
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Post-1970 silver screen heroines gave the Indian woman a revolutionary freedom to dress, and fashion dressing came of age.
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BY THE turn of the decade, the style storm of the 60s became a revolution and fashions peaked in the 70s. The early 70s produced Sharmila Tagore who set numerous hearts aflutter with her dimpled charm. She brought chic glamour to the movies and women unashamedly copied her heavy eyeliner, big back combed hair do and V-neck sari blouse tied into a bow at the back. She went on to become every man's `sapno ki rani'.
And then there was mayhem! The rebellious Zeenat Aman, the ultimate flower child of the late 70s, burst into the Indian psyche. She broke all the rules in the book and brought the hippy fashion in her lungi kurtas in vibrant colours, beaded necklaces, hair left loose and straight, adorned with marigolds and cigarette in hand -- she had an entire generation in raptures, chanting and rocking to Dum maaro dum...
The flower power of 70s rocked away and fashions trembled with a seismic change in the 1980s -- the decade where excess was beautiful and nothing seemed too much. The red hot Madhuri Dixit, the original femme fatale, with her provocative looks, ruled the imagination of all. She taught us how to seductively drape the sari -- chiffons and heavy satins, and brought the in-love-and-just-been-kissed look into fashion.
In the early 90s, came Kajol, like a breath of fresh air -- innocent, charming, vivacious, intelligent -- the girl-next-door, whom all of us could relate to and identify with. She brought the good girl back in fashion, wearing lehengas in wedding after wedding, in film after film. The ever-marrying bride popularised her lehengas immensely. Many a bride-to-be wanted to be her -- the hair tightly coiled in a chignon, brown matte makeup, and wrists full of bangles. Marriage itself became stylish when she sang Mehendi laga ke rakhna...
The girl next door of the early 90s then grew up into the alluring Karisma Kapoor of the late 90s. She taught us what good grooming could do to looks. Hers was a carefully crafted style, which defined a contemporary elegance. The pastel toned short kurtas, worn with bootleg pyjamas, redefined the traditional salwar-kameez. The silver bindis, frosted lips and deep blue eyes taught us the art of restraint. Karisma remains etched in our memories as the ultimate post-modern style icon.
A century of incredible style has gone by, and the decade 2000 is upon us. With it, fashion too has come a full circle bringing the hip and chic glamour of the 70s back to the movies -- bell bottom pants, halter tops, and scarves tied around the neck. The modern style, however, remains distinct and characterised by a simplicity very truly personified by Kareena Kapoor. Whether it is a highly stylised kameez teemed with a bootleg pant or a polo neck tee worn with hipster pants, Kareena remains comfortable and easy in her skin. Young girls blatantly copy her long extended eyeliner and fresh-as-dew make-up.
This style saga would not be complete if there was no mention of Preity Zinta -- she is someone who epitomises modern style like no other. Easy comfortable clothes, fresh from the shower looks, Himalayan pinched cheek blush, gloss on lips and loads of attitude. She is perhaps the only woman in movies today, who is not only completely abreast with style trends but creates them too! Her simple dresses, blouses with ruffles worn with straight skirts, stylish bags swinging in her hands and equally stylish shoes -- Preity is one who wears her style and wears it well.
And what about Aishwarya Rai? Our beloved Ash, in her newest avatar as Devdas' Paro, heavily adorned and weighed down in period clothes, and imploring us all to wear huge bindis, trim our sari blouses with frills and puffs, pleat our petticoats and have them peep naughtily from the sari hem. So is it sheer chance then that fashion gurus the world over have revived the old, the Victorian and the romantic look for this season — all with pleats, frills, lace and ruffles? Or is it that Paro turned out this way because it was fashionable to be so in the spring of 2002! Whichever way one looks at it, it seems established that fashion and movies have become one today; it is difficult to say which feeds on the other.
So go ahead, woman, have no fear and choose your style goddess!
ARCHANA NANDAL
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