Actress Kritika Kamra, known for portraying characters from the 1960s and 1970s in projects like 'Bambai Meri Jaan' and 'Matka King', believes that fashion from that era felt more personal and culturally distinctive compared to today's ever-changing, social media-driven trends.
Fashion Then and Now
Reflecting on the 1960s and 1970s, which embraced repetition and re-styling, Kritika noted that the continuity of fashion in those decades made it feel more personal than the constant novelty of today. In an interview with IANS, she said, 'When I look at the fashion, the style of that era, it definitely feels more personal. You see this need for constant novelty right now because of social media. Trends change really quickly.'
She added, 'They obviously did not change like this back then. That's why you have decades in fashion. The 60s were a few trends, a few elements, then the 70s and 80s.' Each decade was defined by its own distinct style. 'When we studied fashion history in fashion school, it was always defined by decades. But now trends change really quickly, and also because of social media, everybody's kind of seeing the same references, the same trends all over the world. So it doesn't feel as personal. It feels a bit more homogenized.'
Cultural Differences in Fashion
Drawing from her research for 'Matka King', Kritika highlighted how fashion in different parts of the world once carried unique interpretations shaped by culture, individuality, and regional identity. 'But when you look at the pictures or any films of the 60s, 70s, there were, of course, these overarching trends that everybody was kind of following. But each person had their own interpretation.'
She continued, 'And when you see pictures of the West versus India, there's also a lot of cultural difference. Some things that we borrowed from there, some things that we had our own. The way we wore those tight salwar kameezes or sarees in a particular way, that was really unique to our culture on this side of the world. So you see a lot of inspiration and influences of cultures mixing into each other.'
Kritika emphasized that this diversity made fashion from different cities distinct. 'And that's why the fashion of New York feels different from the fashion of South Bombay in the 70s. It was really interesting to do a deep dive into this while researching for Madka King. I have always dressed for myself,' she concluded.
The actress's insights offer a thoughtful perspective on how fashion has evolved from a personal, culturally rooted expression to a more globalized and fast-paced industry driven by social media.
