LOOKBACK 2010-19: Here’s looking at the decade

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Minimalism: No frills. Fancy-free sharpness. God lay in minimalism. From your wardrobe to hair and make-up, OTT was out and being minimal was trendy. That, however, did not mean stripping it off glamour. Oozing gorgeousness with as little as possible made heads turn. Internationally, it made its way into the works of Phoebe Philo, Jason Wu, Dsquared2, Calvin Klein, Marc Jacobs, Victoria Beckham, Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and YSL, among others. Closer home, Abraham & Thakore, Anavila and Rajesh Pratap Singh have been champions of minimalism over the years.

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Athleisure: The decade saw the rise of athleisure that combined athletic + leisure clothes (think gymwear) that could also be worn for outings like social events, work, airport and college too! The key of this aesthetically appealing trend is comfort. Leggings, sneakers, yoga pants, gym tanks, sports bras, hoodies are some staples of the trend. This hot trend that took the global and Indian fashion market by storm became an instant fave because it’s easy to pull off but at the same time helps one stand out. Nike, Balenciaga, Adidas, Zara are some of the brands that flooded their stores with athleisure collections with smart cuts, pop shades and a cool quotient. Closer home, Anamika Khanna gave a glamorous twist to the trend in 2019 with her “sportswear-inspired” AK-OK line.

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Androgyny: With gender lines blurring more than ever, wardrobes, too, saw a radical shift. While women have always been gender benders, the men, too, stepped up. And how! From Kanye West to Ewan McGregor, from Gerard Butler and Jaden Smith to Ranveer Singh… the macho men wore skirts and flaunted them with elan. Top brands like Gucci, Loris Azzaro, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Prada, Stella McCartney put androgyny on the ramp. Back home, designers like Kallol Datta and Ayushman Mitra shared their dialogues. We, of course, couldn’t take our eyes off a Tilda Swinton or a Kristen Stewart or a Ruby Rose, all smoking hot in tuxedos. Androgyny also inspired a film called Androgyny in 2014.

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Anti-fit: With the whole world moving towards comfort dressing, anti-fit climbed up the fashion ladder around 2016. Slouchy, snug, zero silhouette and oh so cosy. The rise and rise of resort wear added to the popularity of anti-fit. If Wendell Rodricks had made anti-fit hot hit, Kallol Datta, Urvashi Kaur, Dhruv Kapoor and Ruchika Sachdeva have made it a part of their style sheets. New-age actors embraced the slouchy cool too. Think Sonam Kapoor, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kangana Ranaut, Neha Dhupia and, closer home, Swastika Mukherjee. And anti-fit has just explored the tip of the iceberg. With lives becoming more hectic, breathing easy will only gain in momentum.

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Retro: Old is gold — well, the fashion industry definitely proved that when it came to retro trends making a huge comeback in this decade. Polka dots that were a hit in the mid-19th century made a comeback in clothes, shoes to accessories. The trend was often complemented with winged eyes, another good old retro look made famous by the likes of Sharmila Tagore and Mumtaz to Marilyn Monroe. The decade also saw the rise of boot-cut pants aka bell-bottoms that are still going strong. Head scarves, peasant blouses, pussy-bow blouses, circle skirts, mom jeans, corset belts and bishop sleeves are some of the other retro trends that crept back into our wardrobes.

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Bling: What started as subtle doses of sequins or crystals on necklines and sleeves, soon turned to garments full-on sheathed with sequins or stones. The later part of the decade saw bling rule the red carpets and party spots! From embellishments on our clothes, to heels, bags, shades, jeans, jewellery and even bras, bling in the form of precious stones, sequins and glitter continued as a strong and steady fashion trend. What we love about the trend is, one can turn up in a complete glittery attire like Kangana Ranaut at the Cannes red carpet and also go low-key with just bling in their nail art or a studded hairband and yet look equally glam! Roberto Cavalli, Naeem Khan, Elie Saab to Indian designers such as Manish Malhotra, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla and Manish Arora have shown their growing love for the trend all through the decade.

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Metallic: One trend that swept this decade and has only got stronger with the passing years is metallic. Gold, bronze, silver, copper... they came in all avatars, each spelling glam with a capital G. The trend that took one from deglam to super glam in an instant is also a tricky one to pull off. Internationally, it continues to rule the red carpet with celebs showing metal love — think Zayn Malik’s metal arm at MET Gala in 2016, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s metallic number at Cannes 2019 or Alia Bhatt simply rocking a pair of metallic co-ords for a casual day look — the trend could be worn in various ways. Over the decade, metallic was also seen in shoes, bags, make-up like eyeshadow, nails and lips.

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Organic and sustainable: Healthy and conscious living became part of life and the sustainable movement gathered steam around 2017. It became one gigantic movement in 2018 and 2019 when investing in all things organic and sustainable was the wave to ride — from the potato on your platter to the rug on your floor. More and more people wore natural textiles like cotton, linen and khadi that let their skin breathe. And design houses tried to go as sustainable as possible, which translated into eco-friendly fashion. Fashion weeks started to celebrate this rising movement by dedicating separate days for designers dabbling in sustainable fashion. The number of labels doing sustainable wear is, well, ever growing. Those Anavila Misra saris spelt understated glam. She belonged to a group of designers who travelled back to the roots and rendered it contemporary. Two thumbs up to Calcutta labels like Maku, Rimi Nayak and Sayantan Sarkar for carrying the city’s baton.

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Street style: Liberating. Nonconformist. A medley. A voice. Original. A melting pot. Street style was the big umbrella which celebrated the power of YOU. Mostly underlined by comfort, street style also explores the world of OTT. The fluidity and malleability of expression, drawing from youthful moods, allows it to transcend fashion seasons and remain relevant. “The influence of social media on fashion in India has become extreme… exposure to the hip-hop music culture… brands like Supreme are choosing streetwear… they are changing the world. Even a serious classic brand like Gucci, see what is happening now. So these people are rebellious, they don’t feel scared to stand out… these are the people who are accepting brands like Supreme. The collaboration of Supreme and Louis Vuitton, the collaboration of Coco Capitan and Gucci… the collaboration of Junior Watanabe and North Face, these kind of collaborations are happening internationally. In India, too, this generation is so exposed to what is happening and there are lot of kids in Calcutta wearing Supreme. It is amazing how they want to wear unisex clothing, genderless clothing. They are not scared to do different things,” designer Anamika Khanna had penned down for t2 in 2018.

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Millennial Pink: A shade that took the decade by storm was Millennial Pink. A shade lighter than blush pink, this hue was everywhere, from wardrobes and walls to even mobile phone covers! The success of this shade lies in the fact that even men across varied age groups embraced the colour. Sonam Kapoor Ahuja was one of the first few celebs to channel it on the Cannes red carpet in 2017.

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Neon: Neon shades of green, pink, red, orange and yellow found its way into wardrobes quite a few times during the decade, and was a rage in 2019. From apparels and accessories to make-up — neon made its way across various categories. While some went all out with a neon attire, some opted for mere touches of neon in their outfits, while the likes of Kylie Jenner worked everything neon. What we love the most about this trend? How it peps up the mood with all its brightness. From high-end brands like Gucci and Prada to pocket-friendly fashion portals like koovs.com, ajio and romwe, neon was, and still continues to be, huge.

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Co-ords: Co-ords or co-ordinated is a trend that involves separates where the lower and the upper are in the same print, colour scheme or pattern. A good thing about the trend is that it doesn’t need too much styling, just a pretty earring or shoes to go with the look seals it. Another advantage is the versatility — you could also team the top or the bottom with something else to create a fresh look.

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Crop Top: This became every girl’s BFF and a wardrobe must for most. The short top trend that bared the midriff gained popularity among youngsters who channelled the trend with denims, saris and skirts. The trend was loved by all because it was chic yet effortless and very summery, too, making it ideal for vacays.

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White sneakers: With comfort being the key in every aspect of fashion, sneakers became much more than just training shoes this decade and was chosen as occasion wear and party-wear too. White kicks, in particular, ruled the roost and were paired with every possible item of clothing, from dresses and denims to jumpsuits and even saris! Some designer brands such as Gucci, Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs glammed up the kicks with jewels or quirked them up with prints and sequins.

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Jumpsuit: Another wardrobe staple in the later half of the decade has been the jumpsuit that found favour across the globe. They came in different styles and fabrics and ruled ramps and shelves alike. Great at work or ready to rock a party, you could dress it up or down, with white sneakers or stilettos. From high street labels to designers, every brand worked this trend at some point or the other.

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Ripped denims: Most parents hated ripped denims and some even tried to sew up the torn and tattered portions! The trend that originated with a slit in 2014, went to the extent of being dangerously destroyed over the years, with many stages of ripped in between. Ripped denims were sported by men, women and kids globally and the trend also carried on in denim jackets and bags!

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Palazzo: The ease, comfort and roominess of a pair of palazzos made it an instant favourite with women of all age groups. The trend that was born early on in the decade, made a firm place for itself over the years and is here to stay. The other factor that worked in its favour is its versatility — it could be paired with tops to tunics to kurtas and everything in between. Be it in jersey or cotton, lycra or linen, a pair of palazzos can be shaped out of any and every fabric.

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Cold shoulder: Cold shoulder was a trend that started in and around 2016-2017 and is still latently alive. The trend that saw cut-out shoulders, showed the right amount of skin without baring much. Young, mid-aged to millennials, the trend was a rage with a varied age group. They worked the trend in tops and dresses. Some Indian designers even gave a desi twist to the trend by making cold-shoulder blouses in delicate patterns and we ain’t complaining!

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Velvet: The decade crushed on velvet, the fabric that’s so soft, smooth and gorgeous at the same time. What we loved the most about it was its versatility! From dresses and gowns in other parts of the world to the iconic and royal Sabyasachi saris and lehngas, velvet found love everywhere.

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Lace: The delicate lace was popular through the decade, whether as trimming and embellishment, or full-on dresses and saris. What works in favour of lace is it’s sexy, classy and has an old-world charm at the same time. Previously restricted to borders and lingerie, lace gained in status this decade and was seen aplenty on the red carpet as well as in party wardrobes.

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Stripes: Thin. Fat. Vertical. Horizontal. Nautical. The form-flattering lines stepped out of boring boardrooms and made a style splash.

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Print on print: Tricky to pull off, but also lending itself to experimentation, this trend was about fun and fashion fearlessness. Abstract with florals, geometric with Aztec... combining prints is not something for the play-it-safe dresser, but if done right, can make for some super cool statements.

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Ruffles: Feminine and romantic, this trend channelled femininity like no other. It added drama, playfulness and movement in any outfit. This decade saw lots of red carpet appearances in ruffled gowns! Fringe: It was less hustle and more tassle in the later part of the decade. While some liked the drama of it, others found fringes cute as the trend was spotted in shoes, bags, earrings, necklaces, cuffs to jackets.

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Exaggerated sleeves: They were the talking point of 2017… the year of all things sleeve… billowy, fluted, puffed, flouncy, slitted, leg of mutton... and the trend seems to still linger on. Wearing your heart on your sleeves! A heart which loves drama! Just like Deepika Padukone at the Cannes red carpet in 2018. And, time and again DP has gone back to big sleeves that spell wardrobe wow!