Why Bappi Lahiri will be remembered as a singular style icon

The buzz around Bappi Lahiri’s love for gold and his other grand fashion choices often overshadowed discussions of his musical talent. Yet he remained unapologetically stylish

Apart from creating some of Bollywood’s catchiest tunes, Bappi Lahiri was known for making some of the most memorable fashion choices in the film industry. The ‘I am a Disco Dancer’ composer’s penchant for expensive trinkets – at least seven gold chains, rings covering all his fingers, a ‘Bappi’-marked bracelet, Louis Vuitton sunglasses–set him apart. So much so, the buzz around his style usually overshadowed discussions of his musical talent. 

Here are some of the unique looks he perpetuated over the decades -

Gold: “Without gold, there is no Bappi da,” the Bollywood disco pioneer had himself noted in a recent interview with film critic Anupama Chopra, published in Vogue. Among his many singular fashion choices, the jewellery habit easily ranks first. It won him several monikers -- ‘golden man’ and ‘bling man’, among them. Elvis Presley, who was known for wearing chunky gold medallions, stoked Lahiri’s fascination with trinkets. He adopted the Hollywood icon’s style and multiplied it. His mother gifted him his first gold chain in 1974, he said in the same interview to Chopra, and the second was a present from his wife in 1977. Gold is my God, he had declared on his Instagram once, and his chains often featured deities. The composer had recalled in several interviews, for instance, that Michael Jackson, during his 1996 visit to India, had taken note of one such – a Ganpati pendant. Journalists would call the musician on Dhanteras, seeking to know how much gold he had purchased, or anytime gold prices hit new highs.

Mullet: The mullet is a radical hairstyle that David Bowie famously wore in the 1970s and which became widely-accepted in the 1980s after Patrick Swayze rocked one in 'Dirty Dancing' (1987). A mix of short and long hair, it is sometimes referred to as ‘business up front, party in the back’. Bappi Lahiri maintained a mullet until the end. 

Sunglasses: The ‘Ooh La La’-singer was rarely ever photographed without a pair of sunglasses, regardless of the time of day. He wore them to evening events too, as his son Bappa observed in an interview with the Free Press Journal. He had as many as 51 sunglasses, he told The Telegraph. At least one pair of Louis Vuitton glares that cost Rs 1.5 lakh was in his collection.

Costumes: There is no such thing as personal style anymore, the singer had lamented in conversation with Anupama Chopra, because people choose to be dressed by stylists for functions. In another conversation, with The Telegraph, he said he designed his costumes with his wife Chitrani Lahiri. Jeans and shirts were too drab for Bappi Lahiri. His wardrobe featured luxurious jackets, long scarves and shiny vests. “Lahiri's a show in himself,” said a Washington Post review of one of his U.S. concerts, taking note of his mullet, black costume, red-lensed sunglasses, white stone-studded scarf and gold vest.

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