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Back to the past

The 1950s and the 1960s continue to inspire fashion, films and television

FASHION REPEATS ITSELF Polka dots are back this season

Farhan Akhtar's Don is futuristic from the word go. Shah Rukh Khan sports the much-in-vogue black velvet jackets and flaunts the latest gizmos. But influences of the decades gone by are unmistakeable, because the film itself is a tribute to Amitabh Bachchan's Don. Watch Isha Koppikar's hairdo, swept up and back like a bouffant. Well, almost. The soft curls are in place too. And only recently, model Jesse Randhawa sported a similar hairdo while walking the ramp for designer Puja Arya at the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.

The Fashion Week in itself had many instances to show that some of the styles followed in the 1950s and 1960s will still be around for Spring-Summer 2007. Retro was the buzzword used by designers to describe the bright shades, floral and psychedelic prints and large sunglasses of the 1970s making a comeback in ads and films (Kal Ho Na Ho's "It's The Time to Disco" for instance). But right now, we aren't talking about just the club wear that's representative of the older times.

If trends in ads, films and fashion are an indication, we can look forward to international vintage styles influencing our wardrobes.

At the Fashion Week, JJ Valaya presented a classy vintage collection while siblings Gauri and Nainika put forth a collection synonymous with the 1960s in Hollywood: easy-flowing white, cream and earthy brown dresses, skirts and tunics with eye-catching polka dots. The knee-length or longer dresses aren't just for super-slim women: real women with real figures can carry them off, accessorised with large, floppy hats.

Dancer Isha Sharvani made a bolder statement sporting a black shirt with bright, white polka dots in the television commercial for a chocolate biscuit with Hrithik Roshan. "Unlike the retro of the 1970s characterised by bright and bold prints, what's appealing about the 1950s and 1960s is the subtlety. The dresses are classy and not in your face," says designer Sashikant Naidu. "We'll see the skirts and dresses, but polka dots? We'll have to wait and see if they become `ramp'ant again."

SANGEETHA DEVI K.

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