India’s Female Forces Of Fashion: From Maharani Gayatri Devi To Uorfi Javed, Women That Stirred Cultural Reset

Women who carved trends!
India’s Female Forces Of Fashion: From Maharani Gayatri Devi To Uorfi Javed, Women That Stirred Cultural Reset

“Clothes mean nothing until someone lives in them,” said Marc Jacobs and I think there is nothing that can describe the first and foremost service that fashion offers. Over the many years, this definition of fashion has been revised from mere clothes that offer protection to something that says your mood out loud. And it is not the clothes that make icons but icons who make them. Much like the world around, India also has been a land of rich cultures, colours and crafts, that come from the many pocketed villages, towns and metro cities. But what makes every style unique, is the person wearing it. Over many years, the history of Indian fashion has evolved through the eyes of artists, designers, costume stylists, and everyone who has contributed to its change.

From Amrita Sher-Gil, and Ritu Kumar to Anaita Shroff Adajania, India’s popular women have made this evolution happen. The tastemakers of our country have found relevance in current trends and weaved moments that are remembered to be iconic. And as we celebrate women’s day today, we go back deep into the closets of India’s female fashion icons.

Amrita Sher-Gil

The popular Hungarian-Indian, Sikh, painter was known to be one of the greatest avant-garde female artists of the 20th century. Sher-Gil’s life across the globe was a massive influence on her wardrobe. From schooling in Paris, Sher-Gil dabbled between bohemian jewellery and head accessories to diaphanous sarees. A simplified assessment of her personal style was often visible through her self-portraits. Like most of us, her travels infused culture-specific designs, silhouettes and colours into her equally multicultural wardrobe. From blasting bright greens to Tibetan earrings, her treasure of vintage jewellery would accompany her to every special occasion. Like any other artist, Sher-Gil was a little too serious about colours and their lives. From enveloping meanings behind grey and black to using green and reds for the display of power, the popular Frida Kahlo of India, influenced the way women dressed from the late 20s till today.

 

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Indira Gandhi

As significant as her strip of grey hair, Indira Gandhi’s political dress code made an important entry in the list of iconic fashion. Her simplicity was weaved into her clean silhouettes, crisp drapes and pale colours. Speaking of the political aspect of fashion, Indira Gandhi turned sarees into a significant style to portray power. Accompanied by her Rudraksha neck string, was her treasured stack of rich, silk Kanjeevaram sarees, that were brought out on special occasions. One of the strongest female leaders that India has ever seen, she designed the ever-popular craze for navy and striped sarees for political leaders in the country.

Maharani Gayatri Devi

Another strong personality that India witnessed in the pre-Independant era was Maharani Gayatri Devi. The third and last ruling empress of Jaipur had a strong voice and an even stronger sense of style. From handpainted sarees, and vintage cat-eyed glasses to royal pearls, every picture of the Maharani, against her expensive Buick Skylark and Hudson Hornet, would instantly catch attention in her sarees. With portraits featuring her riding horses to addressing a sabha in her home town, Maharani Gayatri Devi’s energy was infectious. Besides her contribution towards women, their education, and their rights, Maharani’s sartorial excellence was endearing. Her staple chiffon sarees, hand-painted with delicate flowers described her signature style. Her influence on Indian fashion promoted the saree as India’s ode to power dressing and continued to sit on the mood boards of every Indian designer, who churned out a new collection of the silhouette.

Bhanu Athaiya 

While women across the county scripted history, with their understated, bold stylish selves, costume designer Bhanu Athaiya brought home trends. Through her contribution to costume design in Indian cinema, the legendary Bhanu Athaiya won praise, accolades and respect in the fashion scene. From dressing Mumtaz in a pre-draped orange saree to being the mind behind Yash Chopra’s Chandni, Athaiya dressed the most popular Indian actresses and turned their onscreen fashion iconic. Scripting history, Athaiya also became the first Indian to win an Academy Award for best costume design for the 1983 film–Gandhi. Her contribution shaped the world of fashion that we see and learn from. Through the canvas of cinema, she curated this unique world of heroines, who were as elegant as their bold selves. One of the firsts to enter the industry and make a career out of the costume department, Athaiya is known for her works in films like–Brahmachari, Lagaan, Swades, Pyaasa, Prem Rog, and more.

 

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Ritu Kumar

The first Indian woman to bring the culture of boutiques to India, Ritu Kumar’s legacy and works as a designer are not hidden. Ever since the year 1969, Kumar delivered her ideas of the world and Indian craftsmanship through her clothing line. Inspired by the country’s heritage, and deeply rooted idea of classicism, she smartly used colours and introduced her buyers to the world of block printing, which turned into her signature. A still successfully running brand, her work through books and designs brought India’s fashion DNA to the forefront and gave her the top spot in the list of India’s iconic fashion designers.

 

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Rekha 

While India witnessed the rise of many talented actresses, Rekha’s unique sense of style brought her under the spotlight. Joining the league of legendary Mumtaz and Sadhna, Rekha was like Sridevi on the big screen. With her strong sense of personal style, that reflected in courtesan costumes, chiffon sarees and heirloom jewellery, Rekha consciously carved her off-screen closet. From her staple kanjeevarams to gold-dipped silks, and potlis, Rekha ji is solely responsible for our growing obsession with regal silk sarees and dripping jewellery.

Neeta Lulla

A popular Indian fashion designer and costume stylist, Neeta Lulla’s contribution to film fashion, has been witnessed in over 300 films. From closely working with the most popular faces from the eras 80s and 90s, to dressing modern-day heroines, Lulla spent most of her life, creating fashion for the movies. Her costumes for films like Jodhaa Akbar, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, and more described her love for Indian drapes, colours and a celebration of cultures.

 

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Vidya Balan

While Vidya Balan was a vision on the big screen and often applauded for her impactful performance, her style in the movies and others was trolled to a toxic level. Often called an unconventional Indian heroine for her weight and tacky style of dressing, Balan soon turned the narrative to shout– “I don’t care.” Balan learnt from Rekha ji, the art of dressing in a saree, and used the silhouette as a response to haters. Through her excellent choice of sarees, she proved fashion doesn’t have to put you down for your insecurities, but rather uplift and embrace them.

 

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Neena Gupta

There is nothing that excites me more, than watching actress Neena Gupta’s next sartorial experiment. Defying fashion that is led by age, Neena Gupta proved that fashion post-fifties can also include shorts, dresses and whatever you wanna wear. From arm warmer blouses, and halter necklines to neon sarees, there is nothing that Gupta cannot handle. Like her sharp statements and witty responses, Neena Gupta’s edgy style goes beyond the narrative of age-appropriate fashion. Gupta is one of the very few actresses from her league, who strived to get successful second innings in films, protested against the injustice in the industry and unleashed her unapologetic self for the world. There’s so much to learn from her love for tango colours, micro dresses, jewellery and lip colours.

 

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Sonam Kapoor 

Another actress to be known for her fashionable side is actress Sonam Kapoor. While India knows her as one of the finest performers on the big screen, her sartorial sense stood out for people around the world. More than her film posters, Kapoor’s magazine covers grabbed eyeballs, since her debut film–Saawariya. The actress’ long-lived and loved collaborations with her stylist sister–Rhea Kapoor, made some significant additions to Indian fashion. From clicking professional photographs for every look, promoting Indian labels and homegrown designers to whipping up trends through her closet in films, the Kapoor sisters can easily be qualified as the change makers.

 

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Masaba Gupta 

Like her mother–Neena Gupta, designer and now an actress Masaba Gupta made her place in the list of India’s top fashion designers. Gupta’s 13-year-old brand–House Of Masaba, became a platter to display her multicultural roots and build a unique identity for herself. From starting her own venture with limited capital to now running popular brands, a podcast and her newly-inaugurated acting career, Gupta’s personal style lies in her uniqueness. Through flashy shades and bold motif designs that became a significant Masaba print, Gupta always stayed away from the idea of blending in. Her resilience helped many young artists find their own, unique voice, that is unbothered by trends.

 

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Anaita Shroff Adajania 

From special cameos in some of the most iconic Bollywood films to finally finding her spot as a costume designer/stylist–Anaita Shroff Adajania followed the vision created by the legendary Bhanu Athaiya. Adajania’s contribution to film costumes travelled beyond the usual boring. From experimenting with colours, and character graphs, Adajania is behind some of modern-Indian cinema’s popular female closets, owned by Deepika Padukone’s Veronica in Cocktail, and Aishwarya Rai’s Sunehri in Dhoom 2. From corsets, and bodysuits to caramel hair, Anaita dressed contemporary India and influenced every young girl’s perspective towards fashion. She was soon appointed to run Vogue India as the fashion director and delivered many iconic covers throughout her tenure.

Also Read: Uorfi Javed Does What Bollywood Girls Never Could As Cover Star For This Magazine Shoot

Natasha Poonawalla 

Money could buy you clothes, but not a great style, and Natasha Poonawalla thankfully has the best designs and genius brains in place. Businesswoman, philanthropist and a full-time fashionista, Poonawalla is the maximalist that we all love. Known for her bold, designer collections, Poonawalla’s fashion sense and power, have welcomed her to some of the world’s biggest fashion troops, and given her the opportunity to strut on the popular red carpet at the Met Gala. Her unique eye for detail and bold fashion is built using designer wear, and some of the world’s famous stylists, who she appoints for special occasions. With every new picture of herself, partying with world leaders and popular celebrities at fashion weeks, Poonawalla’s charm is stitched to her opulent style and monumental silhouettes.

Also Read: How Deepika Padukone’s Fashion In Films Caused A Cultural Reset

Uorfi Javed 

While Bollywood celebrities continue to own cloned closets, Uorfi Javed’s fashion for the streets of Mumbai, caused a cultural reset. From being rejected by designers, who refused to lend her their designs to finally getting to a spot, where they happily dress her up, Javed has had quite a journey. India’s DIY fashion princess knows the recipe for dishing out outfits, made of wires, blades and trash bags. From a television actress, and reality show contestant to a full-time fashion girl, posing for the excited paparazzi, Javed when refused to walk on the fashion runways, made the streets of Bombay her own runway. While risqué takes the middle spot in her name, Uorfi’s belief in herself, made this tiring journey of finding her identity, a daring one. With no fashion faux pas in outfits that fit her like a second skin, Javed soon made fashion her medium of self-expression, that it always was. What’s next for her, is an exciting journey to look out for.

 

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Happy Women’s Day!

Image credits: Instagram

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Jasveen Kaur Sawhney

Jasveen Kaur is a fashion writer, and pyjama hoarder, who loves watching interviews of all kinds, and checking her Pinterest mood board every hour!

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