The evolution of the bandhgala

The bandhgala has progressed from being a politician’s uniform to a wardrobe must-have

When you look at old photos of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, you will always spot him immaculately dressed in a bandhgala suit or a “Nehru” jacket. As one of the most stylish politicians of India, it’s thanks to Nehru that the bandhgala gained popularity, so much so that almost every man in India in the 1950s adapted it into their wardrobe.

A bandhgala—or the Indian version of a formal suit—has been the chosen uniform for government officials in India. In 2015, when India’s current prime minister Narendra Modi stepped out for a press conference with former US president Barack Obama in Hyderabad House, he wore a navy blue pinstripe bandhgala suit. If you zoom into the photos, you would realise that it was Modi’s name that was intricately woven into the fabric to appear as a pinstripe. Never before has any prime minister made such a bold style statement. Actor-turned-author Twinkle Khanna, also known as Mrs. Funnybones on social media, had tweeted about it saying, “So wht if NaMo wears a suit with his name on it? Better than carrying bags with LV (Louis Vuitton) all over.”

The bandhgala as a silhouette has witnessed an evolution from the time that was defined by Nehru’s classical style to that of Modi’s audacious choices. While a bandhgala suit is strictly reserved for special occasions, there are designers in India trying to turn that around in their own unique ways. To understand this better, let’s rewind back in time.

A relic of royalty

“A classic bandhgala can be traced back to miniature paintings, all the way before the Mughals in India. But it was the long bandhgala, almost in an achkan style, worn by Nehru that became visibly accepted in the early 1900s. It was a perfect option for a western jacket,” says designer Raghavendra Rathore whose menswear collections are a nod to his royal Rajasthani roots. For couture designer Tarun Tahiliani, it was logical that an achkan, a knee-length jacket worn during the 18th and 19th centuries, would be shortened to become a bandhgala, and then worn over trousers. “Indian royal families, while preserving a lot of traditions and culture, were also the forbearers of western style. They engaged with the west whilst travelling there for months on end and therefore, their sense of styling came into India by osmosis. In spite of this, a bandhgala is that one garment that combines tailoring with traditional Indian shapes while allowing the use of decorative buttons which, again, is a very Indian feature,” says Tahiliani.

These fashion influences between Indian culture and the west worked both ways as the latter saw bandhgalas as an alternative to a three-piece suit. In the 1960s, the bandhgala received celebrity status when The Beatles were photographed wearing an iteration of the garment. In 1962, Sean Connery wore a brown silk bandhgala suit as James Bond in Dr. No. Years later, in 2015, Christoph Waltz’s character in Spectre (and one of the most stylish Bond villains of all time) brought bandhgalas back in the Bond movies. It wasn’t just meant for adults, but even younger generations of celebrities have been spotted wearing shorter, more chic versions of the bandhgala jacket, just like Harry Styles did at the 2014 American Music Awards.

Reimagining a classic

At its core, a bandhgala remains a basic well-tailored jacket which, let’s face it, has always been restricted to special occasions such as weddings and festivals. “You will not find a banker or any other professional wearing a bandhgala to work, as opposed to someone like a politician. You’d rather have a person wearing a suit than a bandhgala to an office meeting. A politician is probably the only one who wears a bandhgala to work,” says Isha Bhansali, the go-to stylist of many Bollywood actors including Ayushmann Khurrana and Rajkummar Rao.

However, many designers in India are trying to change this notion of the bandhgala as “formal wear” by amalgamating the past with the present. Take the instance of Rathore, who has tried to hold on to the essence of the original silhouette while adapting to the changes in society and style. “Our techniques are still very similar to the original patterns of the classic Jodhpuri bandhgala, but it is the comfort and the cuts that evolve season after season as new fabrics and materials are available to designers,” says Rathore. His 2019 Spring/Summer collection was aptly titled An Ode to the Bandhgala with models walking down the ramp in tailored bandhgalas teamed with asymmetrical kurtas.

Fabrics have played a huge role in the evolution of bandhgalas. Traditionally, a bandhgala as an outer jacket is made from thicker fabrics such as wool, silk, brocade and velvet. But to make it more accessible, designers like Ujjawal Dubey have now reimagined this classic piece of clothing in lighter fabrics and edgier cuts. “ Reducing the weight of the jacket, tweaking the fit and placing the pockets differently has made the bandhgala more versatile, like a casual take on its geometry,” says Dubey, the designer behind post new-age menswear label Antar-Agni. Under his label, Dubey tries to breed his own version of urban wear by updating a silhouette as classic as a bandhgala. “I like to reinvent classics without altering their inherent characteristics. While I try to keep its natural appeal alive, I love to play around and infuse subtle changes with the help of geometry and proportions,” he says. Dubey’s collections of jackets and bandhgalas strike a balance between structure, tailored asymmetry and natural forms.

A versatile appeal

That a bandhgala is a formal piece of clothing is a notion that is being changed in the 21st century. Dubey believes that although the traditional bandhgala will always have its place, the subtle evolution is in the way it's styled, making it more versatile. As a stylist, Bhansali, too, noticed this evolution of the bandhgala. “One of the massive changes has been in the adoption of a range of colours and prints, like stripes and checks. There’s now also a lot of asymmetric cuts and offbeat styles which have more of a versatile appeal,” she says.

Sustainability and mindfulness when it comes to shopping and dressing have also played a significant part in the way bandhgalas are worn today. “I’ve seen men wear bandhgalas for more fun occasions, like brunches, where they’d team linen bandhgalas with a pair of jeans and cool sneakers. If you’re spending so much money on a designer piece, you don’t want to limit it to wearing it for just one occasion,” says Bhansali.

While men are adapting bandhgalas in their everyday wardrobe, women, too, are including it in their closets. Kareena Kapoor Khan, while promoting her movie Good Newz in 2019, wore a blue bandhgala suit by Raghavendra Rathore with a pair of high heels. At India Couture Week in 2021, Sonam Kapoor Ahuja wore a beige and ivory embroidered bandhgala with dhoti pants, designed by Kunal Rawal. ‘Superwoman’ Lilly Singh wore a red embroidered bandhgala jacket with a matching skirt for a Diwali party in 2021.

Although synonymous with royalty, in the times of sustainable shopping practices and a blurring of the lines of gender identity, a bandhgala has moved on from being a politician’s staple to finding a place in everyone’s wardrobe, be it for a wedding, a black-tie event or even a brunch date.

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