The Serial Effect

Despite the ubiquitous appeal of ‘saasbahu’ family dramas on television and their influence on fashion, they remain excluded from ‘elite’ fashion as the comparatively unrefined sartorial pleasures of the masses.

- Arti Sandhu

As I switch between images from the recently held India fashion weeks to the videos posted by Colors TV on social media, the sustainable, handspun, handloom fashions clash with loud explosions of colour and embellishments. Bold yet minimal polka dots on cream linen on one side and an all-dressed-in-red cast preparing for Karva Chauth on the other, resting bitch face expressions on models on one side and a panoply of facial expressions to suit the twists and turns of a single scene on the other.

The latter, of course, are images we have become accustomed to seeing on Indian television serials, some of which come under the category of ‘saas-bahu’ family dramas. They are infectious in their exuberance and influence fashion through trickling down and spreading across small towns and cities in India as well as amongst the Indian Diaspora overseas. They regularly feature in branding strategies and sales pitches from local bazaars to Surat’s sari mills, and form the basis of tailor talk while women negotiate their Diwali or Navaratri wardrobes. They pop up in the chatter on social media platforms, and can now be purchased online through simply searching for your favourite on-screen character.

Despite their ubiquitous appeal and their contribution to the enjoyment and experience of fashion in India, the sartorial aesthetics and design of television costumes rarely get any attention from high-brow fashion publications. This exclusion highlights the demarcation between elite fashion and (what it considers) comparatively unrefined sartorial pleasures of the masses; and I must admit that I too was guilty of this biased oversight till a few years ago.