Mumbai-based Bollywood, popularly known as ‘Bollywood,’ has influenced Indian culture and daily life for decades. Movies are an entertainment mainstay and are almost a religion in this country.

If you attend an Indian wedding, you’ll see the ladies dressed in Bollywood-style garments. As part of the ‘baraat,’ revellers dance to throbbing hit songs.

Bollywood has deeply influenced famous Indian Fashion for many years. Tailors will immediately replicate any outfit adorned by an actor or actress in a hit movie. 

How did movie styles change fashion in India?

40s and 50s

Fashion in Bollywood during World War II and the struggle for independence was formal, modest, and understated. Typically, the men wore dhotis, and the women wore ghagra-cholis in rural settings. European fashion was essential in the few films featuring urban characters. For example, Meenakumari, Nargis Dutt, and Suraiya donned elegant sarees and dapper suits. Pants with puff sleeves were seen on screen for the first time. Jewels like pearls were jewellery staples, while hair was arranged in graceful buns.

1960s and 1970s

Madhubala’s anarkali kurtas in Mughal-e-Azam, Mumtaz’s iconic saree drape in Brahmachari, and the fringed hairstyle spread by the actress Sadhana are some of the best recalls of the 1960s.

Men wore sweaters over their shoulders during that decade, a trend that Shahrukh Khan replicated in Mohabbatein years later. During the 1960s, Bollywood fashion featured short, tight blouses, bare skin, and bold makeup. Big puffy hair and winged eyeliner were all the rage. Bhanu Athaiya, a costume designer in the 1960s, started experimenting with film fashion in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam.

As color films became more common, on-screen fashion saw many shades, prints, and experimental looks. Bell bottoms, cropped shirts, oversized glasses, platform heels, and polka dots have become notable fashion trends since Dimple Kapadia wore them in her 1973 hit, Bobby. It was the first time crop tops, swimsuits, and bikinis appeared on the screen.

Final words

Here in this blog, we learned how fashion changes with Bollywood. If you want Bollywood-inspired dresses, head to the Indian clothing store in Canning Vale by Riwaaz Fashionz.