By Enkayaar, Glamsham Editorial
Whenever one talks about how cinema has defined the contours of fashion in the country, one name that would stand at the forefront of taking the lead would be Amitabh Bachchan, who celebrates his 70th birthday tomorrow. Indeed, he is the fashion icon for majority of Indians, before the advent of fashion glossies and the fashion television programmes. Even after the advent of these addendums of fashion Big B continues to accentuate the trend of fashion in the country.The first fashion trend that he set for the fashionistas was through DEEWAR where he had tied the shirt from below into a naught. Till that time this style was a requiem that was associated with women, but Big B made it a style statement for the men and it was done accidently as the shirt that he was wearing on the shoot had its button torned off, and so to keep the ends under control he had tied it into a knot.
The second fashion statement that was contributed by him in a big way was wearing turtle neck sweaters and Yash Chopra has acknowledged that the kind of wardrobe that he had, in KABHIE KABHIE all the clothes that Big B wore were his own. Turtle neck sweaters became a necessary accompaniment for conveying romance as Big B demonstrated in scores of films kike KASME VAADE, SILSILA, KAALIA, SHAKTI etc., and Shahrukh Khan accidentally would have played complement to Big B when he wore these sweaters in MOHABBATEIN, again a Yash Chopra film.
He was also the first star who introduced leather jackets with straight pockets, as he did in SHAKTI and it became a rage and continues to be one of the ways to make a statement with a jacket. It was not that his style statements came only through western clothes. When he sported Indian clothes like Kurta pyjama as well, he took it to new heights. He was the first actor who started wearing churidaar pyjamas in all probability, and the manner in which he wore the shawls, exposing one shoulder, when he entered into politics, became the style statement for politicos and other such aspirants for all times to come.
He is also the actor who had great affinity for carrying off all colors, and the purple toned shirt in which Gautam Rajyadaksha had shot him for one of the covers of Filmfare became a rage in the fashion arena.
Who would have thought that Big B would be able to even make humble gamcha a fashion statement, but he made it a fashion accessory when he wore it in BUNTY AUR BABLI, and it was sort of fusion of fashion attempted for the first time in all probability on the silver screen. If goatess have come into fashion as a facial accessory one has to thank Big B for it and not Aamir Khan, as it was Big B who started sporting it in a big way and made it a fashion statement. The five versions in which Big B has appeared have also been his hunting ground for making fashion statements, and he is the first star who did not have an issue in sporting spectacles in the public.
As long as the fashionable people exist in the country they would continue to get inspired by the clothes and accessories that he has adorn and would continue to adorn.
