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The F word in fashion is films

"Fashion is not something that exists in dresses only. Fashion is in the sky, in the street, fashion has to do with ideas, the way we live, what is happening".

- Coco Chanel

Fashion is a general term for a currently popular style or practice, especially in clothing, footwear or accessories. Fashion references to anything that is the current trend in look and dress up of a person. Fashion is an ever-changing process and may vary considerably within a society according to age, social class, generation, occupation and geography as well as over time. The evolution of fashion dates back to several hundred years and as our attitude and culture change, fashion comes along with it. In the West, fashion had different forms at different times. In Europe, fashion emerged as an idea of personal statement in the 16th century. Since then there were several ups and downs in the fashion industry. In fact, highly prosperous societies in the world, offer different types of fashion options to choose from the clothes as well as accessories.

Centuries

Closer home, in India, a land rich in culture and tradition, fashion has evolved through the centuries. This country, rich in culture, represents a kaleidoscope of changing trends and traditions. Here, clothes perform different functions depending on the occasion. Be it festivals, parties, profession, or just a matter of reflecting attitude; fashion is simply 'in'. Right from women who sport a dash of vermilion in the parting of their hair, to professionals on the go who wield the ladle and the laptop with equal ease, fashion forms an integral part of their lives. For the Indian women, fashion not only highlights social history and the needs of women, but also the overall cultural aesthetic of the various periods. To her, today, fashion does not necessarily mean glamour, or the urge to follow current trends.

It is more a way of life, a reflection of inner beauty, where the intellect shines through, complete with comfort quotient. It was Ralph Lauren who said "I don't design clothes. I design dreams". Well, film makers are dream merchants too. Thus, if fashion is about designing dreams, films are about marketing the dreams.

The foundation of the Indian cinema also proved to be the strongest influence on revolutionizing the fashion scene of Asia in those days. Hence, the link of fashion to films. They both have other common factors. Within the fashion industry, intellectual property is not enforced as it is within the film industry and music industry. To "take inspiration" from others' designs contributes to the fashion industry's ability to establish clothing trends. To entice consumers to buy clothing by establishing new trends is, some have argued, a key component of the industry's success. Intellectual property rules that interfere with the process of trend-making would, on this view, be counter-productive.

In contrast, it is often argued that the blatant theft of new ideas, unique designs, and design details by larger companies is what often contributes to the failure of many smaller or independent design companies. In 2005, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) held a conference calling for stricter intellectual property enforcement within the fashion industry to better protect small and medium businesses and promote competitiveness within the textile and clothing industries. '

If this be the world situation, Sri Lanka is no exception. Unfortunately for those Sri Lankans who are in the fashion, film and or music trade, piracy is the bane of their industry. Though laws exist to punish pirates, the enforcement of such laws is a Herculean task. As a result, the assured money makers in these industries are the pirates.

They are equal to thieves and deserve to be treated as such. But Sri Lanka being Sri Lanka, cheats, embezzlers, robbers, swindlers and plunderers are considered as social elites - a reflection of the state of degeneration of our culture. In Sri Lanka, from 1947 till about 1956, fashion in films constituted what was fashionable in Tamil and Hindi movies. This was mainly due to the fact that Sinhala language films were shot and produced in the South Indian studios and almost all technicians were Indian. The early Sinhala films, as in most countries of the world, had an excessive influence on the viewer for various reasons which is not the essence of this discussion.

Thus, the general public went to see films not only for entertainment, but also to be informed about the trends in dressing. In an era when fashion shows and magazines were not in fashion or beyond the reach of the average householder; films were the harbinger of fashion.

Style

Icons of the industry were adored for their dressing style as much as for their acting skills. Thus, if Rukmani Devi and Rita Ratnayake were the Naomi Cambell of the Sri Lankan female fashion world till the mid sixties; Malini Fonseka, Swarna Mallawarachchi, Farina Lye, Veena Jayakody and Geetha Kumarasinghe ruled the roost up until the mid nineties. Similarly, Prem Jayantha, Eddie Jayamanna, Gamini Fonseka, Tony Ranasinghe and Ranjan Ramanayake were the iconic images for the fashion conscious men of the 50's, 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's era respectively.

However, dress sense, to a great extent, followed the Indian movie trends till about mid seventies. From then on, a Sri Lankan identity was infused into how the stars dressed. Around mid seventies, with the advent of a new breed of local technicians; and, the concept of a costume designer taking hold, films began to look and be Sri Lankan. Not only were the stories of Sri Lankan, but also the appearance and feel of a film began to take on a truly Sri Lankan identity. Fashion Designers were commissioned to design and dress the artiste - keeping in mind the theme of the films and the need to infuse a Sri Lankan distinctiveness in dress.

Sadly though, this trend took a turn for the worse from the 21st century onwards. With Sri Lanka emerging as a major supplier of cheap garments to the western world; and with the decline of the local film industry, copying western trends in proletarian fashion became the norm. Further, the drop in the number of people seeing films due to economic hardship ensured that girls and boys from the garment factories dictated fashion trends. In turn, in a reversal of the trend, film makers began to copy dressing styles of the masses. The fashion designer for films, went out of fashion. People no more look to Sinhala films to enforce their tastes of dress. However, Hindi films are still watched by the female of the species to imitate the hair styles and jewellery. After all, women dress alike all over the world: they dress to be annoying to other women; and as for men, I would say that only men who are not interested in women are interested in women's clothes. Men who like women never notice what they wear.

Sri Lankans are naturally dress conscious. They are evermore keen to be well attired even if their taste in dressing is ill formed. As such, even though films do not dictate trends in fashion anymore, the garment industry is doing well due to this fact. As a result, fashion designers have proliferated. And, they do make a decent living in spite of the poor economy. Some have excelled in their field by reaching out to the outer world and become living proof that innovation and infusion of culture into creations is a sure step to financial success.

Connection

The connection between fashion and films is likely to improve in the future on account of the entry of the corporate sector into various aspects of films such as: in-film advertising, film branding, etc.

This is, as yet, in a nascent state in so far as the Sri Lankan film industry is concerned. But soon, with the economy predicted to improve, and the film industry likely to gain back its eminence, it is inevitable that world trends in corporatisation will arrive in the local scene. The wheel will turn; and, once again. films will become fashionable for fashion.

During my schooling days at Sir Omar Ali Saiffudin College (more commonly called as SOAS College) in Brunei, which were the days of rollicking behaviour; I was fortunate in having - apart from my father - other esteemed individuals as teachers. This was inspite of the fact that the British Empire, which sent their best administrators to India and their best educators to Sri Lanka, sent the scum of their society to the Far East. Yet, in hind-sight, the Far Eastern peoples have turned out to be far more educated, knowledgeable and wealthier than their Sri Lankan counter part: once more, an echo of our debased values; a telling indictment on those responsible.

Mr. Wilson, considered an outcast of the island of Britain, was one such admirable personality who taught us the queen's tongue in those days. He also did teach us many other values of the tongue, including the art of rendering a proper tongue lashing.

But that will be, ramblings for another day. This Mr. Wilson, later on, after being thrown out of Brunei as being unfit to be a part of the group that constituted the ruling gentry amongst the British advisers to Sir Omar Ali Saiffuddin - the then Sultan of Brunei whose eldest son Bolkia, my colleague, is the present Sultan - became a world famous writer and novelist in his pseudonym of Anthony Burgess. His novel, 'Clockwork Orange' became a best seller and was made into a film. Mr. Wilson used to discuss several matters of human interest in his class room. Our class was a mixed one with both male and female students of Malays, Chinese, Indian, Australian and British origin.

I was the only one from Ceylon as Sri Lanka was known in those days. One such conversation, one day, centered on fashion.

I vividly remember Mr. Wilson saying "women thrive on novelty and are easy meat for the commerce of fashion. Men prefer old pipes and torn jackets". Nowadays this saying is attributed to Anthony Burgess, his adopted name as a novelist. He made us write down other worthy quotes on fashion. A sample of such creditable quotes are as follows:

The novelties of one generation are only the resuscitated fashions of the generation before last. George Bernard Shaw Oscar Wilde Fashion is what you adopt when you don't know who you are.

Quentin Crisp Beauty of style and harmony and grace and good rhythm depend on simplicity.

Plato When his wife asked him to change clothes to meet the German Ambassador: If they want to see me, here I am. If they want to see my clothes, open my closet and show them my suits.Albert Einstein We live not according to reason, but according to fashion.

Greatest

Seneca Fashion condemns us to many follies; the greatest is to make ourselves its slave.Napoleon Bonaparte What a deformed thief this fashion is.William Shakespeare Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months.Oscar Wilde The fashion wears out more apparel than the man.

William Shakespeare The fashion of this world passeth away.

Bible, 1 Corinthians

Fashion may be an art; but when one compares Art and Fashion, I would say that Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion, on the other hand, produces beautiful things which always become ugly with time.

As for me, women have always been my fashion. Even though Sophia Loren, the famous Italian actress and symbol of all that is feminine in a female, used to say "that a woman's dress should be like a barbed wire fence: serving its purpose without obstructing the view";

I always thought that the expression a woman wears on her face is more important than the clothes she wears on her - whatever be the fashion of the time. See you this day next week. Until then, keep thinking, keep laughing. Life is mostly about these two activities.

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