How clothes shaped power in ‘Freedom At Midnight’

Nikkhil Advani's Freedom At Midnight on SonyLIV is a compelling web series of India's struggle for Independence, capturing the pivotal moments and key figures. It also serves as a reminder of how clothing shapes politics, ideology and leadership.

Costume designer Ayesha Dasgupta recently won the Filmfare OTT Award for Best Costume Design for the show. In an interview, Dasgupta unpacks her research-driven process and the challenge of recreating a defining moment in history through clothes. Edited excerpts:

How did you zero in on the fabrics for different characters?

In Freedom at Midnight, textiles have played a big role in reflecting political ideologies. So when it comes to Gandhiji, we only used handspun cloth for his dhoti and the gamcha; otherwise you don't get the correct texture and fall.

All the members (characters) of the Indian National Congress (INC) have worn Khadi and organic cotton. Khadi symbolised economic independence from colonial rule, and these fabrics were aligned with Gandhian principles. Anything other than Khadi would have looked like a costume. You cannot take the people (national leaders in this case) seriously then, you know? Leaders of the Muslim League, including Jinnah, wore suits, so did Mountbatten. We didn't use cottons for them because they don't come from those worlds.

Any challenges while working with Khadi?

It's a wonderful fabric to work with, and different qualities of Khadi are available, ranging from stiff to very soft. We chose depending on the kind of silhouette that had to be created. We would wash the fabric many times, use softners, to get the right fall.

How did you use clothing to articulate power and resistance?

When it comes to power and authority, it is mostly the fit of the clothes that makes a difference. So whether the members of the Indian political parties or the British administration, every person who occupied a higher position has worn the most beautifully fitted clothes in their life. When you look at old photos, Mountbatten’s suits, and Nehru's achkans and his churidars, were impeccably stitched and fitted.

Jinnah’s suits used to hang on him a little because he was very, very thin. 
But still, he was a person who never repeated a tie. And if you see the fit of his achkans, those were also impressively stitched. My focus was to achieve the look as close in fit as seen in the research we did through pictures and documentaries.

We've also given quite a bit of high contrast, which, in my opinion, symbolises authority and power. But mostly, I would say that it's all in the fit of the clothes.

People who are not of a very high rank, their costumes don't have that impeccable fit as the leaders. It was a very conscious decision, because everyone is pretty much wearing the same thing, so it's only the differentiation. There were palettes for every character. In scenes with a crowd, we also made sure that people are wearing complementary colours, but the differentiation was created in the fit and also in the fabric.

How did you approach the tailoring, fabrics, and fit of the suits?

The tailoring, the fit, and the fabric of the suits for the British administration were far sleeker and more refined and more expensive looking than the suits that were for the Indian officials (which were a bit boxy), just simply because the suit is a Western silhouette, and by logic, the British had mastered it by the time. Mountbatten’s suits needed to look like they had been tailored in Saville Row. So we used vendors who could provide that kind of a look and finish to every minute detail. For Indians, it was an aspirational sartorial choice, and we worked with a vendor who would give that finish. However, I would say that Jinnnah’s suits were very refined and well constructed because clothing was very important for him. 


What was your research process for the show?

Research is primarily from archival footage; it's a very well documented period in history. The most surprising were books, because they're not books based on the clothing of that time. 
They are books for additional research to know what was happening in this period and they would have a few lines about what people were wearing, a little bit more about their personalities. It’s not like everything was documented, we didn't know what nightwear Edwina Mountbatten, or Jinnah of Fatima was wearing. So we studied their personalities through reading material.

I've worked in films where leads are fictional characters and we can use our imagination. But these were real people, and we needed to know their personalities through extra reading. This was the joy of this show, to get into the minds of real people, and to kind of just show their personalities through clothing.

Were there fabrics, or accessories that were particularly difficult to source or recreate authentically?

A lot of stuff you don't find today, so we had to replicate it. So for example, Jinnah’s monocle is not something you will find easily. So we worked with select vendors who would help recreate vintage items. We also picked pieces from vintage stores in Mumbai and England. Edwina Mountbatten’s bags, hats, they're all vintage. Her shoes and clothing were made. You also won't always find the same fabric used in the 1940s, for those we had to find fabrics that looked the same on camera.

Was there a historical figure whose personal style stayed with you while designing the show?

Edwina Mountbatten's wardrobe was a treat for me. I did vintage shopping, and it was great recreating those beautiful dresses, which are so simple, but they have nice cuts and little details. I'll always be a bit of a sucker for fashion. So Edwina’s costumes were a fun thing for me to do because it was such a welcome break from all the menswear. So I'm not sure about whether her personal style would stay with me, but it's definitely the most enjoyable costume design that I did for the project.

Do you believe certain leaders understood the performative power of clothing better than others?

Jinnah comes to mind, because in the beginning of his political career, he wore a lot of suits, and then as his political ideology started changing a little, he decided to only wear achkans. Everyone has a little bit of performance in their clothes, obviously, you know, if you have certain ideologies, your clothing has to reflect that. When Nehru was young, we gave him a suit, but as he joined the INC, became a staunch Gandhi follower, his wardrobe changed. But Jinnah is the one for me when I think of performative dressing.