Changes in Fashion Themes

A fashion show is an ensemble of creative ideas, right from ramp, lighting, and décor, to models and clothing. Its success depends on whether it can spark the audience's imagination and convince them to buy those clothes. The theme of the fashion show is one of the most significant parts of the show because they provide theatrics and create drama at an otherwise regular show.

It should be in tangent with the show's purpose. Also, it should be exciting and captivating for the audience. The show's purpose could be fundraising for charity, a designer promoting his collection, entertainment for some other event, spreading on some social issue, etc. So, the theme should be along the same lines.

Themes are the critical elements of design and crucial for any show. They have a 'move on' system, generally moving through 3-4 different seasons. They start as a small idea with one designer, fade-in, become fashionable, and then fade out again. Colours are usually closely tied with the theme. However, this is reserved for the 'popular' season. Once the 'popular' season is over and the themes fade out, the colours change and become entirely different. Sometimes the theme moves on and is mixed with other elements to become something entirely new. Some elements remain, and you can use them to predict the trend in which the theme is heading.

A theme can cover all types of areas. It can be based on some social issue on which the organizers want to spread awareness through fashion. It can be a theme set up to provide information on various aspects of a person. It can be a myth breaker theme particularly set up to change the audience's views on a specific subject. It can be a particular fabric like lace or a cultural reference like Spanish influences. It can be a feeling, a mood, a person's character, a type of clothing like sport, or a reference to a particular time like the '50s or school girl. The possibilities are endless. A theme often starts as a pure idea and then moves on into the next season with other influences. By combining two themes, designers can produce something entirely new. In this way, the fashion shows' themes are changing with time to meet the needs of different situations in different times.

CHANGES WITH TIME IN THE CHOICES OF THEMES IN FASHION SHOWS HELD IN COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES ...

Themes in fashion shows are constantly changing with the change in time. As the time and condition change, everything is subjected to change, and themes are not outlined. The types and the choices of the themes by different college societies for their shows change according to the social and environmental conditions and the needs to compete with other organizers. Every organizer tries to put ahead a revolutionary theme and mark the show's name in the competitions and mark itself on the thinking of the people and change their normative mindset.

According to an observation, it has been seen that the themes for the shows are being changed from the normative and generic lines to the individualistic, spiritual, and intense conceptual lines, as previously the themes for the shows are based on some social evils as RAPE, GENDER INEQUALITY, CENSORSHIP etc. and nowadays the choices for the themes are based on more intense topics like KARMA CYCLE, MAYA, BODY SHAMING and other issues related to myth breaking concepts on the individualistic aspect.

PREVIOUS THEMES ON WHICH THE SHOWS WERE BASED

1.RAPE - It is one the most prevalent themes in the previous times of fashion shows. Many shows are based on the theme of spreading awareness, raising funds to fight against this social evil, and making people talk about it fearlessly so that the victims would not feel aloof or alone. Through fashion, this is all described in a very unique and different method.

Many themes like this came up in the fashion shows of the early 21st century. The organizers try to spread some message against the social evils that people in their societies face. These shows also make people aware of the current social evils prevailing in society through their unique fashion.

2.SUICIDES - THE FASHION shows based on this theme are generally conducted to make people understand why and how people are committing SUICIDES, why people are agonizing by the current situations of their lives, what are the reasons that are pushing a person to commit suicide. These shows depict how a person's mocking and bullying can result in a damaging life of an individual so that he /she wants to end it.

This theme is also based on the most prevalent social problems in our country. Many organizers pick it up for the fashion shows to depict this problem through fashion and different clothing styles.

3.GENDER INEQUALITY - The pattern of having show themes on social problems goes on with the issue of GENDER INEQUALITY. Many shows in the early 2000s choose this concept as their themes to make society a better place to live in by breaking the patriarchal norms of the society, depicting it through different props, clothing styles, walks and the whole arena of fashion shows..

As time changed, this trend of taking generic, society related themes has changed. Choices for the themes in the fashion shows shifted towards more intense and myth breaker concepts. The themes related to salvation come into the arena of the fashion world of the college societies.

Let's come to the themes that are prevalent nowadays in the fashion world of college societies.

1.MAYA - Fashion societies in various colleges choose this theme because it is more intense and supports individualistic concepts in a person's life and how a person can be above that in a fashion show. It depicts that a person has flaws like greed, wrath, envy, sloth, pride. Still, he/she can put separate themselves from all this by not putting himself in the illusion of the materialistic world and can live his/her life more happily and in a better way.

This kind of theme marks a shift in societies' choices for their fashion shows after 2015. Now, take a look at some other themes like that.

2. Body shaming - This theme also represents the individualistic problem of shame on oneself, restricting a person from enjoying many opportunities in life. The fashion shows based on this theme reveals that society must stop commenting on a person' body shape, colour, size. There is no difference between black and white skin tones, and all are beautiful in their ways. The show also persuades a person to be happy with its existing state, and everyone is perfect in their ways. And all of this is depicted by different mediums in a fashion show.

3.ARDHANARISHWAR - IN this concept, the theme of sexuality and spirituality has been raised by the medium of Hindu lord shiva, which has captured people's imagination in India and beyond. The very name of shiva evokes love, respect, devotion, all at the same time. Shiva is the black and white god of India. The half-woman god Ardhanishwar has been seen differently in the Indian concepts apart from other persons having sexuality differences like the people from LGBTQ community are many times mocked by the people of normative communities. Still, at the same time, they worship Ardhnarishwar. With the help of this theme, the fashion societies try to explain the concept of sexuality in a different context so that the people think about it differently and accept these changes in persons and respect their sex.

Fashions shows have come along a long way, and with the changing times, the choices for the themes in the fashion shows are constantly changing. The change is inevitable, and it's the nature of the world to change for good. So it applies to the fashion world also, not only in themes but also in different aspects.

--Harshita Kaushal