Fashion designers have gone beyond the limits of the runway ever since TV and Internet became big. PRAKRITI ROY speaks to some designers about this changing trend in the industry and what it means for fashion in India
Designer wear first made its appearance on screen through films. The trend of having fashion designers create the clothes for the lead actors was firmly established by Manish Malhotra back in the 90s. However, now with TV becoming bigger each passing year, designers are now tying up with TV shows as well. Not to mention, the increasingly popular web series in the internet.
Yash Raj Films (YRF) has always been synonymous with the grand extravaganza they bring on the silver screen. And with their second web series, Bang Baaja Baaraat (BBB), YRF has managed to bring that grandeur to the smaller screens of computers.
Since the entire show revolves around a wedding, grand costumes were a must. So YRF roped in their couture clothing wing, Diva’ni, to design all the outfits for the show. Sanya Dhir, designer with Diva’ni, shares that “even though the line is cinema-inspired, it’s much more to do with the grandeur, fashion and heritage that are part of YRF movies”. She adds, “Diva’ni is inspired by the vision of Yash Chopra, who believed that a woman is the most beautiful creation.”
Diva’ni has worked on a few films before this, but only for particular sequences. BBB is the first full-fledged feature that they have worked on. Explaining why they chose this particular show to begin with, Sanya says: “The webisode culture is in full swing and this is a YRF venture in the typical wedding zone. We felt this would be apt for our first full-fledged feature.”
All the outfits were designed exclusively for the show, keeping each of the individual characters in mind; whether it was the sophisticated mother of the bride with her modern colours and weaves, the conservative veiled mother of the groom with her slightly gaudy sarees, or the bride’s ex-boyfriend who had slightly grey shades to his character.
“We decided to go all out whacky in the bachelorette sequence but traditional in the wedding scenes. For the sangeet, we picked a peacock theme for the colours as well as the motifs on the lehenga. For Pawan’s wedding outfit, we had to find a perfect mix of bling and restraint because his character is more likely to go for a blingy sherwani due to his Kanpur background,” shares Sanya.
Through their creations for the webseries, Diva’ni wanted to show that Bollywood styling is not always frivolous. Rather there is a lot of fine handmade work involved in it, often making use of the art of traditional craftsmen across the country.
On TV too, we can see many lifestyle channels coming up with wedding-related shows which have attire designed exclusively by a particular designer. We are, of course, not strangers to the popular show BBB with Sabyasachi which spearheaded this kind of TV show. Yaari Dostii Shaadi is the latest offering by NDTV Goodtimes in this genre.
Renowned designer Anita Dongre will style the bridal couple and a few of their best friends at every wedding covered in the show while the bridesmaid and best man will take viewers through all the madness of their best friend’s wedding. She opines, “I’m glad I’m a part of this interesting show. The show portrays the big fat Indian wedding from a friend’s point of view and that’s what makes it fun.”
When a designer like her also joins the bandwagon of TV, it actually does point to a new kind of trend in the industry. She says, “Fashion today is everywhere. Be it social media, TV, newspapers and magazines. People want to dress better. It’s not only the actresses who want to look good today. Everyone from a college girl to a corporate woman wants to dress well. TV is something that people follow on a daily basis unlike films. Which makes it easier for people to connect to. Over the years the trend is increasing. From 10 years ago to now, fashion has taken a leap owing to TV and films.”