Delia Almeida BA (Hons), FASHION DESIGN, ITM-IFDT: 2012

A Comparative study between Indian and American fashion in the 1970’s

1) During the 1970’s fashion was extremely wide ranging allowing people to compose their own individual look. At this time there were a lot of political changes, recession, wars etc. took place. It affected the two nations i.e. India and America drastically. In India there were more of political changes like emergence of states changing of president, the rise and fall of political parties etc. whereas in America the country was terribly hurting when US entered the abyss of recession. There was a mix of high demand and low supply of things such as jobs, houses, cars. Dubbed with an oil embargo and a mix of other problems led America to an almost depression state.

The topic that I have chosen is the “1970’s”. I chose this decade because the love for miniskirts, bell bottoms, flares, the jersey dress, the drainpipes, leotards, the platform, etc. was so loved by the people of the 60’s that it continued and got more varied in the 70’s. This decade continued the ‘hippie look’ of the 60’s. The jeans and the trousers were flared, hot pants which became a major trend especially for stewardess uniforms. The ‘midis’ i.e. dresses till the mid calf and maxi’s i.e. ankle length dresses were newly introduced which also became a raging trend. Another trend which was loved by one and all was the ‘fitted blazer’. It was worn by both the sexes and it was flared slightly at the hip. Many types of jersey dresses were made at this time. One of the most famous made by Diane von Furstenberg in 1976 called it the ‘silk jersey range’. The ‘frilled rayon evening cloak’ made by Yuki in 1977 and also the ‘matt jersey halter dress made Geoffrey Beene in 1975. The style icons that I have chosen and who have also followed these styles were
Lauren Hutton , Mumtaz, Stevie Nicks, Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi.

Cropped tops were worn by teenagers and young women. The most important fashion accessories for women in 1974 were the leotards. It came in different variations. It was mostly worn at disco clubs because of its flexibility and comfortability. Rod Stewart, Cher and Joni Mitchell were the famous celebrities often seen in leotards. The go-go glasses were also in trend. The disco style had a major effect on men’s clothing as it got more diversified. They could make any types of clothes
because of the availability of different types of fabric. Neck-scarves, neck ties and shirt collars got a lot of variations which made the outfit bolder and modern. Silk scarves in particular were a very famous fashion accessory for women in the 1970’s. The women’s shoes which were ‘the high heeled-lower platform mules’ also known as ‘candies’ was made of moulded plastic with a simple strap over the ball of the foot made of wood became popular.
There was a sudden stop of the disco in 1979, after these styles being criticized it quickly went out of fashion and sleeker, straight cigarette legs and painter’s pants started a new trend all over.
2)
The famous style icons which I have chosen are:
LAUREN HUTTON: She was a top fashion model, style icon that not only stole a lot of hearts but also the Vogue cover in which she made a record 27 times. She was well known and entitled as ‘the fresh American face of fashion’. She was signed a million dollar contract for Revlon cosmetics. She was also known for having a gap in her front two teeth. She was told to fill it but she didn’t. It became her trademark and she was loved for it. She says in one of her interviews, “It’s becoming quite fashionable now isn’t it? Forty
-five years later?”, she jokes. “ Without a Lauren Hutton there would be no Kate Moss. She is a complete magpie” says Michael Kors. Lauren Hutton seems to have taken her natural California looks and portrayed them well beyond what many might have expected. She was very easy going on trends. She never once ‘over did’ anything. Sometimes even minimalistic and chic. Very similar to her was our Indian diva Mumtaz.
MUMTAZ: During her reign, her decade was known as the decade of ‘non-conformity’ rebellion and youth and this was reflected in the changing style of clothing throughout the decade. This decade was famous for anarkali suits, fitted kurtas, churidaars and sarees in a particular style. Although Mumtaz started off her acting career at the age of 12, this Iranian’s beauty’s biggest advantage were her Indian looks and she could fit onto any role designed keeping the figure of an Indian woman in mind. Through her sensuality, sexuality and humour she became one of the most commercially successful actresses of her time.
She started of her acting career as an extra in and accepted small roles in big movies in the 1960’s. Slowly she became famous for her humour and charm and got main roles in few big movies in the 1970’s. In her small career span of 12 years she acted in more than 100 films. She absolutely loved wearing the sari. She made the ‘Santhali’ style of draping a sari very popular. Her fashion sense was effortless and subtle. She was considered as one of the most beautiful actresses of her time.
STEVIE NICKS : She was an american singer-songwriter known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career which collectively have produced over top 50 hits and sold over 140 billion albums. She was entitled as ‘The Reighning Queen of Rock & Roll’ by Rolling Stone magazine. Nicks was a daring rock star.
She is also the definition of boho. According to me,she is beautiful and timeless. Her outfits consisted of flowing maxi’s, scarves and earings of feathers, headbands and capes. Her shawls are considered her signature. Stevie’s style was soon imitated by fans all
Over the world and the singer couldn’t be more happy. The US Weekly website has described Stevie Nicks as one of the music industries biggest style pioneers.
Following a similar trend were our indian divas- Zeenat Aman and Parveen Babi.
3) ZEENAT AMAN & PARVEEN BABI: both of them acted in a numberof movies with their success soaring the sky. They both had similar tastes in fashion when it came to embracing the boho chic look just like Stevie Nicks . Zeenat and Parveen were the two Indian style bombshells that rocked the filmworld with their bohemian chic style statements and timeless sassiness.
With their bold bikinis, halter necks, knotty blouses, flirty frills and thigh high dresses. They both became the representatives of everything chic, western and sexy. The emancipation and the sense of adventure they brought to their dressing continues to influence young actresses today. They strived to stand out from the crowd with their modern westernized dresses and skirts. They wer definately the bold and the beautiful.
4) The list of style icons around the world can go on and on without a doubt. The style icons above were appreciated for their personal touch to the trend setting community and also influencing people not only around them but their nation at large. It wasnt about copying a style without individuality but by keeping a trend alive and on going by finding out the diffrent ways to bring a variety to it. The style of the 1970’s definately has a strong and fresh influence even today. The ‘palazzo’ also known as elephant pants then is a very famouse trend. Also the tie up shirts and block heeled shoes are a raging trend even today. These icons have really played a very important influence in our lives. We all have our icons we look upto an if we notice closely, it wasnt extravagent the way how fashion is dealt today. Their style was so effortless. It was very subtle and chic and everybody wore what was in trend. Today we have a variety of looks a single person can carry, unlike the 1970’s it was just a uniform trend but the way these icons bought a variety left us all gob smacked. From the frayed jeans to the hot pants, from the shift dress to the crop tops, its all in trend even today and on a larger scale. This just shows us just like history, fashion repeats itself!


REFERENCES :
1 - www.kcliabrary.lonestar.edu
www.wikipedia.org
www.cliffnotes.com
www.elcoushistory.tripod.com
2 - www.laurenhutton.com
www.harpersbazaar.com
www.indiavoice.info
www.bollyspice.com
3 – www.idiva.com
www.nicksfix.com