|  As
we step in the new millenium,let's indulge in little
bit of retrospection,the key moments in fashion,triggered
by various socioeconomic movements during the twentieth
century.For what we know of the history of fashion until
the end of the 19th century,it was mostly a fascinating
footnote to the history of art. Much has changed and
evolved in the history of fashion in the 1900's.It's
a stirring,exotic trip with detours aplenty-from the
Fallper girls of the '20s in their Channel dresses to
the sheer elegance of Maharani Gayatri Devi's pastel
chiffon sarees,to the innocent candy coloured can can
dresses of the '50s Americana to the dark,stylish paired
down dressing of the '90.
When the century dawned,fashion was an exclusive enterprise,the
pursuit of the wealth.The lower tiers of the society
settled for garments that were more often than not entirely
family hand-made-downs or stitched at home.With time,
however,networks of neighbourhood tailors began to evolve
into a retail history and the boom followed by boutique
selling.Today,garments are laser cut by computers and
sourced from all over the world and can easily be bought
sitting in the comfort of one's home via the internet.
 Each
decade of this century ushered greater progress."During
the '20s,one of the greatest influences on dress code
was the movement towards equal status for women.Hence,
a new breed of business-like women emerged and made
corresponding demands on their dress,says A.K.G Nair,Director,Pearl
Academy of Fashion."The obvious choice for silhouette
veered towards dropwaist or box and the choice of colour
was black and grey and the fabrics preferred were silk
and georgettes."he says.
"In India,the fashion scenario was in confusion
as it was a turbulent period of conflicting ideologies,when
the consciousness of an Indian national identity was
beginning to find political expression and the
struggle for Indian independence was getting momentum,"says
fashion diya Ritu Kumar.Thus the fashion trends within
high society,read the loyalty,was strongly influenced
by the British with the result that western clothes
became a status symbol.
The '30s heralded the idea of socialism,communism and
fascism and women's fashion became more and more feminine
in keeeping with conservative ideas."However this
period also saw the emergence of the vamp and the culture
of cabaret,"says Nair,noting that hence the dresses
became more body hugging and the colours deep and dark
in tune with such themes.
The establishment of the Indian cinema also proved
to be the  strongest
influence on the fashion in the decade.Due to the western
influence,the use of angarkhas,choghas and jamas diminished
considerably by this time,although the ceremonial pagri,safa
and topi were widespread as ever."They had been
replaced by the chapkan,achkan and sherwani,which are
still standard items of formal dress for Indian men
today,"says Kumar.
 "The
women even though were accepting change,continued to
wear their peshwaz,kurtas,ghaghras and odhnis at religious
and ceremonial festivities,sometimes using imported
fabrics but using mostly traditional handwoven fabrice,"says
Asha Baxi,Director,Fashion Design.,National Institute
of Fashion Technology(NIFT).
In the '40s,it was Christian Dior who turned fashion
upside down with a new shape,with the bosom pushed up
and out,a pinched waist and hips emphasised with short
fluted jackets."It was also a decade marked by
the second World War and the ensuing independence ofr
India with the result that women's clothing was simple
and functional,"says Nair.
The '50s saw the dawn of art colleges and schools,which
became  places
of rebel,and hence in silhouette,narrow waist and balloon
skirts with bouncing patterns were in vogue.Also due
to the freedom struggle and the espousal of khadi by
Gandhiji,khadi garments became a rage giving a boost
to the sagging handloom industry,according to Asha Baxi.
The '60s one of the most shock-filled decades of the
century,saw sweeping fashion and lifestyle changes that
reflected the mercurial passions of the times."This
decade was full of defiance and celebration in arts
and music and cinema,marked by a liberation from constraints
and new types of materials such as plastic film and
coated polyester fabric got popular,"says Nair.Besides,adds
Bax,"Tight kurtas and churidars and high coiffers
competed with the mini-skirts abroad and at the same
time,designers understood the need of the moment to
launch cheaper,ready-to-wear lines.
"One of the most "revisited" and "retro"
periods in the fashion,the '70s is often called the
'me decade'."It saw the beginning of "anything
goes" culture with the result that fashion became
another form of self-expression and bold colours with
flower prints were adapted in tunics,with shirts and
bell-bottoms,"says designer Manav Gangwani.As drug
culture became a mass phenomenon,psychedelic colours
were garish,the shoes were tall and hazardous and silhouettes
were extreme and the dressing of the '50s was definitely
out.
"The 70s also saw the export of traditional material
with the result that export surplus was sold within
the country itself and hence,international fashion came
to India much before the MTV culture," says Baxi.Synthetics
became popular and the disco culture had a profound
influence on fashion and the clothes became as flashy
as the mirrored ball that spins over the dancers.
In the '80s the big money ruled.It was the era of self
consciousness and American designers like Calvin Klein
 became
household names.In India too,silhouettes became more
masculine and the salwar kameez was made with shoulder
pads.Says Baxi,"Power dressing and corporate look
became dominant dress code."The influence of cable
TV became more prominent and the teenage market boomed
with youngsters going in for the trendy look,which in
turn influenced the elders.
The '90s the last decade of the millenium,was one of
the extremes.Th excess of the early decade gave way
to the drastic pairing down and stripping away in the
hands of German designers like Helmut Lang and Jil Sander."Perhaps
the biggest fashion news of the '90s has been the ascendancy
of the younger generation of designers into the mainstream.The
decade also looked for independent women with comforts,poise
and comnfidence as key features,"says Nair.
 But
the decade also saw the revival of ethnicity with films
too becoming more discreet and launching a "back
to ethnic" look.While on the one hand the new drive
for information technology popularised the corporate
look,an ethno-cultural revival made people again go
back to the traditional forms of art and crafts.States
Baxi,"As it is Indian fashion is extremely alive
and whatever the decade or the century,it is here to
stay.For not only it is comfortable,practical and aesthetically
beautiful but has changed with time with the result
that it has,in the past century,and will in the coming
one,remain contemporary,"she sums up.
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