Finally, Cloth and Costumes

 Dear Reader

This is the final one of the series on Cloth. Costumes come much later in the history of clothing. In fact, it is a matter of national pride and identity. Don't agree? Remember all the controversy Priyanka Chopra's short skirt created when she met the Indian Prime Minister Mr Modi? Some people felt outraged about how could an 'Indian' meet the Prime Minister in a 'costume' other than the 'national costume' of the India-Sari. If this is not enough, remember the troll that Celebrity Designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee had to face when he made a statement at Harvard University "...if you don't know how to wear a sari, it's a shame on you. Its a part of your culture and need to stand up for it". Then, many women and writers asked how is it that their mothers who hardly wore a sari were very much Indian? Some pointed to the fact that Sari is not the 'National Costume' and India is proud to have many 'Costumes' that represent the Nation. Sabyasachi wrote an open letter to apologize and retracted his statement. These are the two most recent examples to depict the attachment that people have to the costume. 

      Just as the cloth was directly related to the immediate geographical environment, costume too emerged and is related to this. Though the notion of costume and 'national costume' emerged much later, perhaps as late as the 10th Century AD, the earliest notion of the costume is rooted in Village fares and festivities.  It was during this time that the village drama would be organized, 

      In Greece, it was held in honor of Dionysius and they wore highly stylized masks. There is an interesting tale about theatre and the Sun Goddess in Japan. It is said that once the Sun Goddess was angry with her brother's prank. She hid in a cave and the world was plunged into darkness. The goddess of Dawn began to dance in front of the cave so beautifully that the gods began to cheer her performance. Her performance was wild and powerful; the cheer of the spirits and the gods grew louder and in this process, revealed her breasts. The Sun Goddess peeped curiously to see what was happening outside. She was mesmerized by the performance of the Goddess of Dawn. She stood there to watch it. Since she did not go back into her hiding, the world received all the warmth and light that was requisite. 

  In India, the colourful costumes worn by Classical Dancers and theatre is well known. Kathakali performers of Kerala wear elaborate costumes and masks. Their face is either painted in different bright hues or they wear different masks to denote the character they represent. Green usually represents the heroic; red dots on the green-painted face represent a character with an evil side to him/her; while red is the colour of evil, yellow is the colour for monks and spiritual women like Sita, Draupadi, Mohini, etc. 

    

     The various sketches of faces in Kathakali--image courtesy http://sandeepdesign.blogspot.com

    Thus the history of the costume is intricately woven with the theatre costume. And then, can we be far away from the cinema and Superheros. Marvel Studios have churned famous films centred around superheroes and superwomen just by designing suits for them. Spider-Man, Ant-Man, Iron Man, Wonder Woman, Bat Man, Doctor Strange, the despicable Me's.  

    And from here, there is no looking back! There is an entire industry in the show business of costumes. Of course, these 'extravagant' costumes make their presence felt in the cupboards of the common man. There are designer wears that are custom made, there are mass-imitations of it and there is a lot of commerce in it. 

  I wonder in which direction is this relationship between people and clothes headed? Wonder whither!!!

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