Think 70s and the first thing that strikes you about that “golden era” is the fashion from that period. From bright colours, bold patterns, flared pants, huge hair-dos, elaborate eye make-up, every trend in that decade keeps coming back. In India, for people who don’t follow ramp trends, it’s Bollywood that is the trendsetter, and right now retro is a rage in the film industry.
In movies like Once Upon A Time, and upcoming flicks like Action Replay and Heroine, actors are once again seen taking a leaf out of the old fashion book and sporting bell-bottom pants, floral prints and handle-bar moustaches.
Says designer Puja Arya, “Seventies’ fashion was characterised by short mini dresses, bell bottoms, flared pants and hot pants.?It continues to be an important fashion statement today because it had a very distinct flavour, which is why the 70s were popularly known as the disco era.”
The 70s was all about being “rebellious” and that reflected in the fashion of that time with bold shades, power shoulders, bell bottoms, flower power and big paisley prints.
According to designer Pam Mehta, flower power still reigns strong. “Perhaps it has a strong connect with the dramatic sentiments of most people, and that is why it refuses to die down. In the 60s and 70s, pink was a rage among girls, puffed up hair-buns, platform heels, A-line skirts, elaborate eye-make up, everything in the wardrobe held prominence. Guys with their fitted shirts and bell-bottoms, sometimes a scarf tied around their neck, were equally in tune with the times.”
The 70s was probably the only decade when fashion had changed so drastically that the clothes worn and styled were nearly costume-like, feels designer Priyanka Modi of the label Am:pm.
She adds, “The psychedelic prints, big hair, experimentation with silhouette like bell-bottoms, all came together and became a hedonistic mix of fun and vivaciousness, liberalisation and rebelliousness, obviously becoming one of the most iconic and unique decade in fashion. It keeps coming back in vogue through different forms.”
Designer duo Kapil and Monica rate the 70s as the epitome of fashion. “This era was the pioneer of fashion, and eventually fashion is a vicious circle, it will surely go round again and again.”