OPINION
Fashion Through the Ages: How History Continues to Shape Modern Design
Understanding the evolution of Indian and Western dress traditions can help fashion students turn historical knowledge into fresh, culturally grounded design ideas.
CHANDIGARH | PEN OF DEMOCRACY
By Kanchan Mehta
M.A. Fashion Designing, Instructor, Chaudhary Devi Lal University, Sirsa
Fashion is far more than a way of wearing attractive clothes. It reflects a society’s culture, lifestyle, economic conditions and historical development. Across different periods, changes in living patterns, religious beliefs, technological progress and social circumstances have shaped what people wear. For students of fashion designing, studying fashion history is therefore essential because it helps them understand earlier garments, craft techniques and design ideas and use that knowledge to inspire contemporary experimentation.
India’s ancient textile heritage
India has one of the world’s richest and most enduring textile traditions. Sculptures and archaeological evidence from the Indus Valley Civilisation indicate the use of cotton textiles. During the Vedic period, garments were commonly wrapped around the body. Men wore forms of the dhoti and uttariya, while women used unstitched draped garments that evolved into traditions associated with the sari. Natural dyes and hand-crafted motifs were important elements of textile expression.
During the Mauryan and Gupta periods, Indian clothing became increasingly artistic and decorative. Fine cottons, silk, jewellery and embroidered textiles gained prominence. Clothing also reflected differences in social status, with royal and elite dress distinct from that of ordinary communities. India’s textile trade expanded beyond its borders, and Indian muslin, silk and dyed fabrics developed a strong reputation.
EDITORIAL TAKEAWAYS
• Fashion records social and cultural change.
Historical garments preserve information about technology, craft and everyday life.
• Traditional Indian textiles remain a source of design innovation.
Old techniques, motifs and draping traditions can be reinterpreted for contemporary fashion.
• Fashion education needs historical context.
Students can build more original designs when they understand where forms, fabrics and techniques come from.
The Mughal influence and the making of a composite style
The medieval period brought major changes to Indian fashion, particularly under Mughal influence. Garments such as the jama, angarkha, churidar pyjama, salwar, kameez, sherwani and lehenga acquired new forms and identities. Techniques including zari, zardozi, brocade and fine embroidery became increasingly prominent. The meeting of Mughal aesthetics with Indian traditions produced a composite clothing culture whose influence remains visible in wedding and festive wear today.
Colonial influence, khadi and modern Indian identity
During British rule, Western styles became more visible in India. Men increasingly adopted trousers, shirts, coats and suits, while women’s dress incorporated blouses, petticoats and newer sewing methods. During the freedom movement, khadi became more than a fabric: it came to represent self-reliance and national self-respect. After Independence, Indian fashion continued to develop by combining traditional crafts with modern design approaches.
What Western fashion history teaches designers
Western fashion has also passed through major transformations. In ancient Greece and Rome, loose draped garments were common. In medieval Europe, dress could signal social rank and status. During the Renaissance, heavier fabrics, elaborate sleeves, decorative gowns and carefully shaped silhouettes became fashionable. The Industrial Revolution transformed the field by making sewing machines and large-scale textile production possible, helping fashion move beyond elite circles and reach wider populations.
In the twentieth century, Western fashion changed at remarkable speed. Women’s clothing became more practical, while skirts, trousers and ready-to-wear garments expanded their influence. World wars, cinema, music, youth culture and prominent designers repeatedly reshaped popular taste. In the twenty-first century, globalisation, social media, digital design and online shopping have further reduced the distance between Indian and Western fashion.
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Tradition and modernity can coexist
Today’s fashion is increasingly a meeting point between tradition and modernity. Designers are returning to historical colours, silhouettes, embroidery and textile traditions and presenting them through contemporary forms. This process shows why fashion history should not be treated as a subject confined to the past. It is a practical source of creative research.
WHY FASHION HISTORY MATTERS
For students: it expands visual vocabulary and encourages research-led creativity.
For designers: it provides tested forms, techniques, materials and motifs that can be reinterpreted rather than simply copied.
For society: it keeps textile traditions and cultural memory connected to contemporary life.
For fashion-designing students, the history of clothing is therefore not simply a record of what people once wore. It can become a foundation for original thinking. When historical knowledge is combined with experimentation, technology and sensitivity to culture, designers can create work that is contemporary yet connected to its roots.
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