Today, Fashion in India has evolved into something extraordinary since the early decades of post-independence India when traditional clothes like ghagra choli and sari were popular among many. The word fashion is now synonymous with Bollywood. Bollywood fashion took the ’80s and the ’90s by storm when movies portrayed heroines in costumes inspired by the Mughal era. The Indian fashion industry was taking a 180 degree turn with fashion designers like Satya Paul, Ritu Kumar and Tarun Tahilani making headlines for their unique sense of style when it came to designing extravagant costumes in the Indian fashion scene.
By the year 2000, fashion hit a whole new level with Indian fashion drawing inspiration from the western culture thus re-inventing the popular traditional costumes like kurta and the sari. The influence of Bollywood fashion and the occasional celebrity walking the
ramp displaying the latest designs still played a key role when it came to introducing new designs to the people of the country. Fashion reached the world-scene by 2010 when Indian designs were being showcased in multiple fashion platforms across the world.
The evolution of fashion in India is yet to be understood in these modern times in its entirety. Fashion today is all about adopting the latest trends. The Indian fashion has merged with the western concepts of style. Designer outfits once thought to be part of the elites and the celebrities are now accessible to everyone. Though the changing scene is welcome by many Indians, a few of them believe that the future of Indian fashion is uncertain. Traditional industries making ‘ethnic’ fashion using traditional methods are becoming less popular with the advent of western-wear. Industries once popular making hand-made fashion in the early 80s are slowly becoming old with the rise of technology. One could only imagine what the future holds for industries of the kind.
What one may consider a vicissitude in the fashion world, the other may just be looking at it as a modern-day success of blurring the lines between the fashion of the east and the west. But, whatever may be the thoughts of the common man regarding Indian fashion, the Indian fashion industry has carved a niche for itself over the past decade and the roots of the modern-day fashion will not be forgotten if kept alive by the people ruling the Indian fashion industry today.