Reel fashion was never more real

From outlandish and bizarre to chic, made–to–fit and comfortable, Kollywood’s style sensibilities have come a long way over the years

Unlike inanimate magazine photospreads and split second runway appearances, in films, as clothes and accessories are set to motion and given context, fashion comes alive.Which is why world over, fashion or the fashionability of cinema never fails to have a direct impact on retail. But for ‘A Place in the Sun’ (1951) or ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’(1994) the ‘White party dress’ or the ‘ventilated choli’ would neither have received the same mass appeal nor have sold numerous replicas. Closer home, Kollywood itself has seen many an onscreen style translate to street fashion and something that’s difficult to ignore is how over the years, the industry’s style sensibilities have come a long way from outlandish and bizarre to chic, made–to–fit and comfortable. There is still the ‘odd’ shocking pink harem pant in a Vijay dance sequence, but one look at Meghna (Vaaranam Aayiram), Karthik (Unnaale Unnale) and you know wearable fashion is now more the norm than an exception.
Much has changed since the costumer gave way to the stylist and brocade gave way to chiffons. Film fashion today is a lot more practical and even accessible. “Nobody wants to wear something very uncomfortable, neither do actors. Definitely, there is still a tendency to look for something a little larger than life while shopping for a film, but not to the extent that it’s impractical”, explains stylist Nalini Shriram. Does the probability of the costume or style catching on with the audience determine the wearability of the outfit in anyway? “If something catches on, it feels wonderful. But there are a million other larger issues like the background colour, lighting etc to be concerned about while designing for a film. So it’s virtually impossible to actually think in terms of how well the outfit would work with the retail market” she clarifies.
It’s not a rare occurrence anymore when you notice that the nicely cut shirt on your favourite actor is the exact same one that you were eyeballing at the mall the other day, only worn with a clever twist. Most stylists today claim shopping out of regular places like Lifestyle and Addidas that are known for their very stylish yet wearable clothes. “It normally depends on the budget of the film. If the budget is huge, we customize the costumes and if we have to work within a smaller budget we shop around. But as a rule costumes are never hired to ensure exclusivity”, says Designer Sidney Sladen.
We’ve seen the CEO (Sanjay Ramaswamy in Ghazini), the working woman (Divya in Autograph), the yuppie( Anbarasu in Anbae Sivam) , the school teacher (Maya in Kaakha Kaakha) and the college goer (Munna in Boys) and what’s difficult to ignore is that styling has played a crucial role in lending credibility to these characters. Sanjay Ramaswamy in a velvet jacket or Divya in a brocade salwar would never have had the same impact. Says stylist Erum Ali, “Nowadays there are some directors who go down to the last detail and specify everything from the motifs to the shade of the colour to be used when the character’s clothes have a lot to do with the image portrayed.” “This especially happens when you’re styling a villain. There are a lot of times when you are asked to use black or black leather”, agrees Sidney.
With regards to film fashion the differences between reel and real have blurred to the extent that sometimes outfits designed for a film actually find their way into the actor’s personal wardrobe. “I had put aside a very beautiful sherwani that I had designed for one of Abbas’s films and did not get used and it works well for special occasions”, laughs Erum. While designing for an actor I normally choose to keep their film look separate from their regular look, but there are lots of instances when they want a particular style or outfit replicated for their own wardrobe” says Sidney.