Empire

MUGALUnfolding fashion of Mugal Empire

By Richa Parashar

Mugal empire played an important role in increasing the richness of Indian textile and costume. Mugal emperors( 1526-1857) were pas-sionate about painting, jewellery ,architecture,Poetry.This presena-tion highlights the costume ,textile, ornaments ad it’s effect of in todays fashion world.

Costume: Textile: Jewellery MUGAL EMPIRE

Men’s clothingMughal clothing refers to clothing devel-oped by the Mughals in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries throughout the extent of their empire in the Indian subcontinent.

It was characterized by luxurious styles and was made with muslin, silk, velvet and brocade.Elaborate patterns includ-ing dots, checks, and waves were used with colors from various dyes including cochineal, sulfate of iron, sulfate of cop-per and sulfate of antimony

Characterstic

sM

UGA

L EM

PIRE

Fig 01:Typical Mugal m

en clothingJam

a,Pajama,Patka,turban

Fig

02: P

ortr

ait o

f Prin

ce K

hurr

am

(Sha

h Ja

han)

, Mug

hal p

erio

d

MU

GAL

EMPI

RE

Men’s clothingThe Mughals (a mix of Turkish and Persian in-fluences) took shape during the reign of Akbar and Jahangir.

Mughal costume for men consisted of the 1) jama, a garment that was fitted till the waist and worn crosswise and fastened at the side with a lower skirt like portion that fell below the knees 2) the tight paijamas for the legs 3) the patka (sash) which here is secured with a jewelled belt 4) the chadar aka shawl 5) the turban. The jama and chador were usually fine muslin, fine enough to see un-derlying jewellery. Other clothing types included: “peshwaz” style robes and “yalek” robes

Cost

ume

deta

ils

Fig

04:

The

mul

tiple

side

ties

of

jam

a or

tuni

c a

nd fl

at h

eele

d w

ith a

poi

nted

fron

t end

and

w

ithou

t a b

acks

trap

Fig

03:P

agri

styl

es -

"Cha

u-go

shia

",

in fo

ur se

gmen

ts, t

he d

ome

shap

ed

qubb

edar

, ka

shiti

, du

palli

, em

broi

-de

red

nuk

ka d

ar, a

nd e

mbr

oide

red

and

velv

et m

andi

Fig0

4: T

his o

pule

nt fo

rm o

f em

broi

-de

ry in

one

in w

hich

met

al th

read

s,

mos

tly g

old

and

silv

er, w

ere

used

to

crea

te e

xten

sive

moti

fs. T

he tr

end

is

trac

ed b

ack

to th

e M

ugha

l per

iod

Fig

07:

Achk

an a

nd A

ngra

khas

are

use

d to

add

a se

nse

of fu

n an

d ta

ngin

ess t

o th

e us

ual k

urta

.

Men’s clothingThe Mughal inspiration could be see working into modern ensembles.

The rich colour ranges from pastel pink, jade, mauve to intoxicating champagne, rich gold, bright red, sophisticate maroon, electric blue, sunny saffron and ended with heavy jewelled looks, which at times become so intense that the embellish-ments almost replace the need for jewel-lery around the necks .Detailing for the collection revolved around stitched-in pleats and belted saris or kurtas along with dhoti or lungi drapes for pants and skirts

Toda

ys M

ugal

CON

TEM

PORA

RY

Fig0

9: M

ugha

l kun

dan

neck

lace

Fig

08:P

ersi

an b

lue

mee

na-

kari

neck

lace

in fl

oral

moti

f

Women were known to have as many as 8 complete sets of jewelry. Popular ornaments included 2 inch wide arm-lets worn above the elbows, bracelets or pearls at the wrist stacked high enough to impede access to the pulse, lots of rings (with the mirror ring worn on the right thumb customary for nearly all the inhabitants of the Zenana), strings of pearls (as many as 15 strings at a time), metal bands or strings of pearls at the bottom of their legs, and ornaments hanging in the middle of the head in the shape of star, sun, moon, or a flower

Women’s fashionWomen also adorned a variety of head or-naments such as Binduli, Kotbiladar, Sekra, Siphul, Tikka and Jhumar

Mug

al o

rnam

ents

JEW

ELLE

RY

Fig1

2:He

ad o

rnam

ents

such

as B

ind-

uli,

Kotb

ilada

r, Ti

kka

and

Jhum

ar

Fig1

1:M

or-B

hanw

ar, B

ali,

Jhum

-ka

s, K

anph

ool a

nd P

ipal

pat

ra o

r pa

pal p

atti a

re e

arrin

gs fr

om th

e pe

riod.

Fig1

1:Ha

nd o

rnam

ent

They wore long, loose jama likeribs, which had full sleeves and opened at the front. Underneath, an ankle length vest was worn and the ensemble was completed with a veil which cov-ered the hair and most of the face .Dur-ing the cold season, qabas (coat) made of Kashmir shawl cloth was worn asovercoats .Outside the harem they wereusually clothed in the burqa ,which cov-ered the body from head to feet leaving only a slit around the eyes

MU

GAL

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RECh

aracterstic

sWomen’s costumeThe clothes worn by Muslim women during the Mughal rule were not much different to the men.

Fig1

3: Id

ealiz

ed P

ortr

ait o

f the

Mug

hal

Empr

ess N

ur Ja

han

Fig1

4: T

he g

arm

ents

of M

ugha

l la-

dies

wer

e m

ade

of th

e fin

est m

us-

lins,

silk

s, v

elve

ts a

nd b

roca

des.

CON

TEM

PORA

RY

Toda

ys M

ugal

Women’s clothingThe Mughal inspiration could be see work-ing into modern ensembles.

Figure15 :Model w

earing anarkali during a fashion show

Fig

16 :T

he p

aasa

, or t

he jh

oom

ar

paas

a, is

a tr

aditi

onal

pie

ce o

f jew

el-

lery

wor

n on

the

head

.

the anarkali as a garment was identi-fied as a long flowy kurta that was fit-ted around the bust. The fitting around the empire line and subsequent flare in the garment was revived in the 1960s.

The paasa is defined by its pearled strings that carry a pendant-like struc-ture. Usually, it is worn on the left side of the head and is tucked into the hair in a way that it covers the temple.

The shoes seem to correspond to the salimshahi, a type of shoe introduced by Jahangir aka Prince Salim, flat heeled with a pointed front end (often curved) and without a backstrap (perhaps a precursor of the modern mojri).

JEW

ELLE

RYM

ugal

Orn

amen

ts

Men’s fashionOrnaments are worn not only for the pur-pose of attracting the attention of others around but also as a distinctive mark of status, rank and dignity.

The most important accessory for an Indian man was his turban, which pro-claimed his status, religion, caste and region of origin. To submit a turban to anybody was a sign of total subjugation and the removal of a turban was the most humiliating punishment that could be inflicted on any man.

Fig:The ornaments, footwear, head-wear and of Mughal period.

Fig:Jewellery for decoraticng turban

Pai-Jama: This is a compound of two Persian words “pai” meaning legs or feet and “jama” meaning cover. Draw-string pai-jamas have been worn in Persia since very ancient times. From about 1530 onwards, several types of pai-jama were worn in India.Churidar: Cut on the bias, much long-er than the leg, so that folds fall at the ankle, worn by men and women.Shalwar: A triangularly cut pai-jama with a quilted band at the ankle (pon-cha) worn by men and women.Dhilja: A woman’s pai-jama made of silk, cut wide and straight.Garara: A woman’s pai-jama cut loose to the knee and adding gathers.Farshi: A woman’s pai-jama cut with-out folds to the knees, and then gath-ered into pleats to the floor.

Cost

ume

deta

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Women’s clothingladies wore multiple layers of clothing, with a tight fitting bodice that stopped short of the navel.The length hit the knees or lower, the waist fastened closely, and the neckline was in a “V” shape.

Fig:Costume of women in Mugal court

Ornamented shoes with turned up toes (Jhuti) were Persian in style, and were worn by men and women. Some other footwear were:The Kafsh, worn by nobles and kingsThe Charhvan, with a curling tongue fixed to the toeThe Salim Shahi, decorated in goldThe Khurd Nau, very lightweight, made of kid leatherLucknow was most famous for it’s footwear in Mughal times, and the art of Aughi, embroidery on leather and velvet footwear, was very popular.M

UGA

L EM

PIRE

Mug

alFo

otw

ear

Men’s fashionPeople prefer wearing them on traditional oca-sions like weddings. Along with traditional dresses like sherwani or kurta pajama, jutti form the quintessential accessory.

Fig:

jutti

for m

en w

ith e

x-te

nded

cur

ved

tip, o

r nok

h.

Fig:

Orn

amen

ted

Jutti

dur

-in

g M

ugal

per

iod

Fig:

Indi

an M

ojar

is Pa

ir

Jackets: Jackets over kurtas and saris have become a smart, chic choice for women across the nation. Historians across the country and paintings from the era suggest that empress Mumtaz was extremely fond of the trend. She was often painted wearing a long sleeved kurta under a short-sleeved jacket. The trend of carrying jackets over the usual kurtas and anarkalis is hence often credited to Mumtaz herself. Historians as-sert that jackets were not meant for women earlier and crafting these jackets that were rich in fabric and opulent in nature was a brainchild of the Mughals, notably Mumtaz.

Modern twist by Indian designers

MU

GAL

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Modern twist given to traditional jacket

Men’s jacket inspired by Akbar’s jacket

Shru

ti H

aasa

n w

alk

the r

amp

foM

ugha

l In

dia

Show

by

Anus

hree

Red

dy

Reynu Taandon takes the ramp accompanied by showstopper Richa Chadha

This new collection juxtaposes the traditions of the Mughal era with the taste of a modern day

Ethnicity is kept intact, fusing it with mod-ern construction to make the ensemble fit for a modern bride. Fine fabrics such as rich velvet and Benarasi as the base for lehengas and anarkali suits has been used. Intense threadwork embroidery has been meticu-lously worked upon. Tulle and cancan has been used to create a lacy, floating look. Deep colours like burgundy, tomato red and hot pink dominate this line. Cocktail saris use shimmer chiffon, bejewelled borders and Renaissance motifs all over as the jaal. De-tailed bejewelled bustiers have been coordi-nated with the saris and lehengas.

FASHION

R

ELIV

ING

MU

GAL