Fashion's Most Influential Over The Years

From The Sartorial Choices Of Indian Royalty To Princess Diana’s Iconic Ensembles, From Jackie Kennedy’s Pillbox Hats To Rekha Bringing Kanjeevarams Back To Closets, Every Decade Since Time Immemorial Has Had Its Style Icons Ones Who Defined What Looked Good And Inspired Millions. Hello! Takes A Trip Down Memory Lane To Bring You Fashion’s Most Influential Over The Years

Since time immemorial, human beings have used dress to set themselves apart. There’s something primal and innate in our desire to preen. From ancient times, when kings and queens had elaborate costumes and court pageantry was at its zenith, to the advent of gilded-age aristocracy and 20thcentury high society, clothing is what distinguished us from the ordinary — a way to stand out and be seen.

From Mughal emperors and France’s Louis XIV to the extreme no-fuss style of today — think Steve Jobs in his black jeans and turtlenecks — fashion and style have proven to be obsessive pursuits. Don’t forget that 400 years ago, Indian chintz was so prized as dress material by European women that royal courts in England and France either banned or taxed the fabric heavily to protect their own textile industries. Fashion is, after all, big business.

And as ephemeral as fashion is, style, on the other hand, endures. Hard to decode and pin down, style is something towards which we all strive because it reflects our personality and how we choose to express ourselves. In the late 19th century, Oscar Wilde made his mark as a writer through his celebrated essay, ‘The Philosophy of Dress’, in the New York Tribune, in which he extolled the virtues of dressing simply. At the time, Western women’s fashion was all frills, bows, corsets and layers of fabric, making dressing an elaborate ritual and movement difficult. Through the Rational Dress Society, which Wilde’s wife Constance championed, Victorian-era women tried to reform the constraints of clothing by encouraging beauty with comfort.