Ever wondered why all the brands around us big or small, dig deep into the past to create their pieces of art? Whether it’s a promotional campaign by the ever cheerful brand Péro, based on the iconic character played by Sridevi 'Chandni' or even the latest Zooni collection woven with love by Raw mango, targeting the Kashmiri roots, with Sabyasachi on the other end recreating styles from the golden age through his colossal craft. These brands are shaping new genres, through their collections every season. The amount of newness they bring to their craft has it’s base pinned from the past. These reincarnated versions of the golden days projected through tiny clips each time make us awe struck, inducing us to press that share button over our instagram and spread the word around.
But, looking at all these promotional videos, posters and photoshoots, always takes me back to the time I was not a part of, with an insight of what those years of glory seek to offer. The essence it projects and the message it nurtures redefines the styles that seemed old or stale. But the question wrapped within, sneaking through all these threaded pieces of art is, why always the past?
What makes these trendsetters flip back those pages to generate products for today and tomorrow? Why the 80s’, 90s’ or even the 70s’ styles still haunt our Instagram feed in different forms and faces each day?
This thought also drags me towards the idea that determines how strong footprints these golden days have left behind, that even today it’s mark seems so fresh and bright. For instance, the idea of a blissful beautiful lover that the audiences found within Yash Chopra’s 'Chandni', Neena Gupta and Smita Patel making space for the hidden stories of the society on the big silver screen through the movie 'Mandi', or even Dimple Kapadia as Bobby shining like a vision of simplicity and style, which people remember even today and will for years to come. The magic of cinema, and it’s characters are deeply rooted within us just like our religious believes, which timely are worshipped in various forms and celebrated in every new color. Making space for themselves in the present age through the world of fashion and trade.
Brands today on the earth have not just taken up the duty to sell their respective products but are taking efforts to be aware of the process that helps them travel towards the end goal. Being conscious about their target audience is one such important element, they worry the most about. Every new post over social media, campaigns curated for their collection exhibit, or even their smallest effort towards being exclusive, has a message that communicates and connects them with their viewers, old or new. The zest to preserve the link with the receivers of their content forces them to curate ideas that joins the familiar dots through newly carved ways. With every step to stay within the game, brands pick the colours, the styles, the drapes from the 'retro age' projected in versions that seem so new. The stories of past through these brands promise to revisit us in every possible form. This secret behind catering today’s audience is a recipe curated from parts of yester year, garnished with some modern masala.
Written piece by: Jasveen Sawhney