Parents of 10-year old Amar never imagined that shopping for a bow-tie for his Annual Day programme would become one of their biggest shopping challenges. After failing to find the ‘right one’, the couple were relieved after being told by the school management it can be ‘rented out’.
From bow ties to bow and arrow, super heroes to popular film character costumes, one can actually rent them for a day or two. The costume rental stores have been around for donkey’s years, silently supplying period and fantasy costumes for film folk, television artistes, award shows, professionals seeking help for cultural dos and schools and colleges.
Tucked away in little by lanes in the city, these costume rental stores may be quite inconspicuous. But come December, they spring into action bringing alive dreams and fantasies of all those aspiring to fit into some character or role for Christmas and New Year shows, fancy dress parties, cultural programmes or annual day celebrations at schools.
Be it a mythological/popular character like Ram and Sita, Gandhi, a policeman, an ogre or the now popular Eega , these stores have them all, managing to do brisk business catering to the ever-changing demands of the industry. Ashok Pawar, proprietor of B. Babu Rao in Badichowdi, one of the oldest costume rental stores in the city says, “Things have definitely changed a lot over the years. When my father started this store more than 60 years ago, people wanted costumes that were grand, rich and heavy; the more, the better. But today less is more. People want costumes that are hassle-free and easy to carry. Take crowns and helmets for instance. Earlier we’d make them with metals like brass, but today we stock designs that use fibre, paper and sponge. It has to be light and fuss-free.”
Earlier film units too relied heavily on these costume rental stores to supply them with outfits for the movie’s starcast. These days however, production houses hire costumes only for dancers or, at best, junior artistes. “Most movie crews these days hire costumes for the junior artistes, while outfits for lead guys are handled by designers. So we supply a lot of costumes for the roles of police officers, constables, doctors or village folk in simple panchas ,” says K. Ramu of Sree Geetha Dresses in Krishna Nagar.
While the demand for traditional costumes based on history and mythology continues to reign, there is a parallel demand for western outfits – for dances or role plays.
Movies also play an important role in costume trends. For instance, ever since the success of Eega , the demand for the costume has gone up.
“We do a lot of work for films and televisions but schools are our biggest clients. We customise costumes for them based on their requirements and the Eega costume is pretty popular apart from the traditional ones, as are those of flowers and animals,” says G. Rajeshwari of Rajeshwari Costumes in Krishna Nagar.
And it’s not just educational institutions and the entertainment industry that rely on these stores for help when it comes to role plays. Corporate employees too form a huge clientele base. “Cultural fests of the corporate crowd are quite elaborate, so they hire costumes all the time – be it for western dances, skits or other productions.”
In tune with the times, these rental companies have tweaked their revenue model: “These days we also undertake package deals instead of charging on a per day basis. So a package deal could include either just costumes or even make-up in which case our artistes go to the venue and take care of the entire look of the performers,” explains Ashok.
