Genre refers to a category or a type of art, music, film or literature. Genres in films have a few elements – Conventions like frequently used techniques. Iconography about particular objects, actors or directors. For example, Movies by Alfred Hitchcock. And expectations from certain films like the engaging audience in a particular way.

Genre and society are very prevalent. In India, the crime rate has increased more than it ever existed in the history of the nation. Hence, movies with messages to spread awareness to respect women and the development of liberal mindsets are trending in Bollywood at the moment. This is how movies are used as a medium to convey meaningful messages to the public in an entertaining manner.

Costume for Drama – In period drama films, the costumes worn by the actors not only tell us about the attire worn by people in the particular era but also talks a lot about the surrounding, the culture and the lifestyle around those people. A lot of research goes behind finding out who wore what, how and in what setting. I’ve worked on the research for the costumes for two Bollywood period drama films. One set in the 1800s and the other set in the 1950s. Meticulous research is the only way to get costumes right for such films, because if you go wrong, you’re doing wrong to the history you’re talking about. I spent months visiting libraries and museums while looking for traces of the garments worn by the characters.

The discourse of fashion means the knowledge of the subject and the literature used in the context of Fashion. Also, the language in which we talk about a certain topic. Although the way we think about fashion has changed and advanced over the years, issues like sustainability still exist.

Media erases the link between production and consumption. Advertising in Fashion does not portray the real issues prevailing in the industry like debt, unfair wages to workers, sweat shops and sustainability. This mainly happens because the ads showcase aspirational lifestyles and fail to shed light on the process of the production of fast fashion.

Before the 18th century, the consumption of fashion was self provisional and bespoke. Dressing up was for the members of the Royal families and actors. After that, there was a shift from the ancient regime to a market society. After the Industrial Revolution, workshops and steam power was introduced. Followed by the invention of the sewing machine which led to the production of Ready-To-Wear. Synthetic fabric like Polyester came into the picture in the 20th century, which resulted in much cheaper production of garments. After the 1960s, Fordism proliferated mass production and consumption. and Post Fordism, segmented markets and flexible markets were introduced. Today, we can say that the commodification of fashion goods has changed the way we look at the novelty of Fashion.