The 30 Year Journey: How Fashion For Bollywood Actresses Underwent A Metamorphosis Renowned fashion designer and four-time national award winner Neeta Lulla has been associated with some of the most famous Bollywood films over the last three decades, such as Chandini, Lamhe, Roop Ki Rani Choro Ka Raja, Darr Khuda Gawah, Taal, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Jodha Akbar and Devdas.
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Renowned fashion designer and four-time national award winner Neeta Lulla has been associated with some of the most famous Bollywood films over the last three decades, such as Chandini, Lamhe, Roop Ki Rani Choro Ka Raja, Darr Khuda Gawah, Taal, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Jodha Akbar and Devdas. Known for designing outfits for top actresses such as Sridevi, Aishwarya Rai, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Katrina Kaif, Priyanka Chopra, and Deepika Padukone, as well as popular actors like Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Hrithik Roshan and Rajnikanth, she has also been part of several Indian television programs, commercials, and musicals with historical themes.
Having showcased her couture and ready-to-wear collections at various Indian and international fashion weeks, Lulla has been witness to the changing times. One such change she has been privy to is how women in power have changed the way they dress over the years.
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"Historically, female leaders often faced expectations to conform to traditional and conservative attire. However, as societal norms evolved, women in power began to express their individuality through fashion, incorporating modern and stylish elements into their wardrobe. Today, many female leaders confidently embrace diverse clothing choices that reflect their personality, while still maintaining professionalism and appropriateness for their roles. These changes in dressing have symbolized the progress made towards gender equality and empowerment," Lulla said.
Fashion for women in Bollywood itself has changed drastically since she started out. Lulla breaks down the changes according to different perspectives.
1) Costumes
From creating designs through inspirations found in libraries and creating styles from garments to accessories the costumiers had to do it all be it for the film or styling for magazine shoots and events. Today everything is available at an easy reach and connectivity through mobiles and social media there is easy connectivity to access brands and styles.
2) Stylists
The norm earlier was an actor's sister, mother or friend to design clothes. We had very few stalwarts who were costumiers, today designers and stylists have taken over and work on the film holistically to create characterisation and looks.
3) Media
For the first time in the 90s film magazines mentioned clothes and fashion as an aspiration and so did mainstream magazine. For example, the clothes I had designed in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam were a big hit. Media had started to take note of fashion trends and brought to the forefront the major fashion boom. This is when I learnt that fashions in films was a major game changer and inspiration for the consumer. But it also saw a great divide between film costume designers and mainstream fashion designers as the cross over for either seemed difficult. Film fashion was considered garish for a long time, but secretly it was still an aspiration.
Clients would come for consulting stating that they didn't want anything filmy, but as the conversation proceeded they wanted an off shoulder of Juhi from Darr or Sridevi's from Chandni or Lamhe!
Today the line between mainstream and film is diffused, owing to the digital world and films showcasing a new culture and realism. Also, consumers have easy access to international and Indian brands film designers and fashion happenings through various digital portals. A confident bride walks in to the fashion house with the image of her favourite outfit asking for the exact same thing in her desired colour.
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Lulla's personal journey itself has been quite intriguing. Married at the young age of 16, she was initially pressured to pursue a career in cooking or tailoring, but she chose to follow her passion for fashion, enrolling in a Diploma in Pattern Making and Garment Manufacture at SNDT University's Premlila Vithaldas Polytechnic, Juhu. Her success in the film industry, Lulla ventured into the world of couture, establishing House Of Neeta Lulla. The focus now shifted to designing bridal wear and providing trousseau consultations for brides-to-be, making it a popular choice for both millennial brides and Indian audiences worldwide. Eventually, she launched her own label, Neeta Lulla Couture, and held her first show in Mumbai.
In 1995, she opened her flagship store in Mumbai to cater to her growing global clientele. A far cry from the time when she was starting out, and sold sandwiches to students to afford the 500 INR second-hand sewing machine she needed. A lesser known facet of Lulla is the fact that as an academician she has been teaching for the past 34 years in various institutes such as SNDT University and also founded the Neeta Lulla Whistling Woods School of Fashion.
The author can be reached at bkabir@entrepreneurindia.com and Instagram.com/kabirsinghbhandari
