Drapes & Dreams

Fashion guru Manish Malhotra peers into the future of fashion through the kaleidoscope of the past. in his words...

- Kinnari Rathod

Change has always been in ‘fashion’... it’s like a cycle that keeps coming back. Because the present always borrows from the past… In retrospect, the black and white cinema fascinates me more than ever. Cinema in the ’40s had an impeccable, though not overt, style. Men in suits and bow ties with cigarette holders and well- done opulent hairstyles to women in puffed hair and stylish garments... all made obvious statements.

For instance, in the Dilip Kumar-Raj Kapoor-Nargis starrer Andaz (1949), the first shot had Nargis in a white shirt with folded sleeves. She’s wearing breaches and high boots. So stylish! Also, Awara (1951) had Nargis come down the staircase wearing an empire gown with a drape. That’s the kind of fashion that we see even today. Cuckoo Moray, a well-known dancer, wore a striped off-shoulder tee shirt with a big skirt with bows in the film. Such eye to detail, even in those days, is impressive.

Dev Anand, who was known as a fashion icon, could wear red pants and a mustard blazer and carry it off with much élan. In fact, it’s believed that his clothes were sourced from London. His look in Guide (1965) particularly so. The women, in the ’60s, sported big and beautiful hairstyles; the jewellery was dainty though. And while they went bold with sleeveless blouses, the men threw around casual mufflers. That’s debonair for you.

Directors like Raj Kapoor in all RK films (Vyjayanthimala in Sangam, 1964, looked beautiful in white sarees) Guru Dutt ( as in Pyaasa, Kagaz ke Phool, Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Chaudhvin Ka Chand and later Yash Chopra (from Ittefaq and Waqt to Chandni, Lamhe, Silsila and Jab Tak Hai Jaan between 1969 -2012) took care of the entire atmosphere of the film.