With Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts I and II releasing tomorrow, Potter mania is at its peak. A lot of things have happened in the nine years since J.K. Rowling’s last book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows , and one of them is the explosion of merchandise and fashion accessories associated with the Potter movies.
While the wait to get your hands on the new book cannot be made shorter, you can, however, pep up the run to Harry’s birthday by getting a wardrobe makeover. How does a Deathly Hallows sheer maxi skirt or a pair of Marauder’s map leggings, sound? Australia-based Black Milk Clothing has all those and more to satiate the Potterhead fashionista in you.
Over the years, several e-commerce sites have mushroomed across the globe, selling clothing and accessories — ranging from Time-Turner necklaces and flying snitch pendants to house scarves and Triwizard Tournament sweatshirts (babble.com, harrypotterplatform934.com and amazon.com, among others).
The latest to inspire a fashion line is the popular series Game of Thrones . Remember the silver choker with a dragon head around Khaleesi’s neck? That is now part of the Game of Thrones -inspired jewellery line by London-based MEY Designs, a company started by the jewellery and costume designers of the popular series. Besides the neck piece, the line also features bejewelled armour rings, dragon egg earrings, cuffs with wing motifs, and more. These might also appeal to those who have no clue about who the mother of dragons is.
Previously, The Limited, an American clothing store, launched a line of formal wear based on actor Kerry Washington’s looks in the series Scandal . The Hunger Games , Gossip Girl and Downton Abbey are a few others that have inspired clothing and accessory lines.
“Pop culture has always influenced fashion over the years. In the West, the various genres of music, like rock, blues, pop, come with their own looks. In India, movies greatly influence trends. I recall, after the release of Dabangg and Singham , most teenagers wanted to hang their shades behind their shirts just like Salman Khan and Suriya did,” says Kaustav Sengupta, fashion forecaster.
“Now, more than movies, it is social media that influences fashion to a great extent. Youngsters are constantly glued to various fashion sites on their smartphones, and get updates of global trends in just a matter of seconds. Even before the release of Kabali , people started sporting the grey beard that Rajini has in the movie, and the chic black suits that he wears started occupying the wardrobes of many. All this, after watching a mini trailer on YouTube!” he adds.
Most e-commerce companies cashed in on the recent release. “Our latest addition was a Kabali -themed T-shirt which sold a couple of thousands in two months,” says Raunaq Mangottil, co-founder of Chennai-based Fully Filmy, which did the official merchandising for OK Kanmani , Naanum Rowdy Dhaan and Maari . Their collection also includes elements from Breaking Bad and Game of Thrones , quotes by famous directors, and popular dialogues from movies, printed on T-shirts.
“We get a lot of requests from people to do exclusive ‘Vijay’ or ‘Ajith’ T-shirts, or those celebrating directors like Selvaraghavan, and singers such as Yuvan Shankar Raja and Anirudh. We also get a lot of requests for merchandise for Malayalam, Telugu and Bengali movies,” adds Raunaq.
Meanwhile, another Mumbai-based company, The Souled Store, ranks superhero-themed shirts as its bestseller.
“Superman, Ironman, Batman… they always do well,” says Aditya Sharma, co-founder. He observes that people are now more updated with the series, thanks to platforms such as Netflix. Also, unlike a few years ago, when pop culture-based T-shirts could only be bought by someone visiting the West, plenty of e-commerce sites in India are now offering them.
“We also do collections inspired by Friends , The Big Bang Theory , Harry Potter , Star Wars and Looney Tunes, besides Marvel and DC characters,” says Aditya.
Cartoon-inspired fashion also has many takers, from kids to adults. Take, for instance, the saris with Mickey Mouse prints created by Masaba Gupta in collaboration with Satya Paul, Moschino coats with SpongeBob SquarePants prints (also showcased as part of 2014 Milan Fashion Week!), Rupert Sanderson’s Minion pumps or Charlotte Olympia’s Sleeping Beauty pumps!
“Now, I am pretty sure that Pokémon Go would be the next big thing. Already, I can see teenagers posing with Pikachu hoodies in bright yellow colours. Very soon, they would become the rage,” says Kaustav.
