Fashion guru and leading Bollywood designer Manish Malhotra takes Mumbai’s fashionistas through trends yesterday and today… and predicts what tomorrow will be like
When we look back at the Swinging Seventies… a period which I personally love … we see Indian films with melodious music and wonderful stars making style statements with big collars and bell bottoms, not to mention poppy colors, but the influences that they had on people was huge.
I, for one, was very influenced by the 70s and so was my work in Bollywood when I started. The Naughty Nineties saw a huge change in Indian fashion with the designer boom starting. Rangeela changed the way people looked at costumes in an Indian film. Today, lots of films make style statements and our fashion industry has grown thanks to them. Bollywood has taken Indian style out into the world where international brands look at us with new respect and interest. Today we are making on our own style statements. People are out there grooming themselves (fashion isn’t anymore just a woman’s domain) and there are even swimsuits for men.
Coming to this season… it strictly exaggerates shoulders, slim jeans with a big fold and worn with loafers, a very New York like look! Less accessorized … that’s the new man now. For women, cleaner lines, of course. Indian colors with contemporary cuts, high-waist pants and suits, jumpsuits, single shoulders, mid-length, colors like dark grey … I used it in my bridal collection, too. So the groom coming into the Indian wardrobe is a welcome change. Wearing colors such as deep red, indigo, blue.
Fashion changes – this Spring Summer 2010 we’ll see bandage dresses, shirt dresses, one-shoulder dresses will remain till Summer 2010 with shorter helm lines. Kaftans (not one of my favorites) will make a comeback … and the colors – sand, turquoise, soft pink, yellow, indigo, rosy pink, lime green. And for the men … faded washes, chambray shirts, chalk stripes, in indigo, blue, burnt red, grey, chocolate brown and a load of neon colors.
But for me, it’s style that remains timeless … clean lines and, most importantly, personality … and our films will continue making trend statements. n
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