Why Gen Z is obsessed with Rekha's '80s glam (and making it work for coffee dates)

Long before Gen Z claimed experimental beauty as their own, the 1980s witnessed Rekha at the height of her glamour—a vision of fearless style where bold prints and daring makeup defined the aesthetic. When Rekha appeared on screen in the now iconic Silsila blush pink saree, her kohl-rimmed gaze and styling formed a blueprint for maximalist glamour that would dominate for decades. And it did... until everyone, on and off the screen, adopted a soft glam and minimalist beauty aesthetic.

Today, the '80s glam has resurfaced as Gen Z's ultimate mood board, driving what insiders are calling "Rekhafication"—the wholesale appropriation of an '80s aesthetic that predates their very existence. While audiences of that era watched her command screens in leopard-spotted saris and graphic liner, only a few could have predicted that decades later, a generation raised on self-expression would discover her archive and mistake it for contemporary innovation.

The 80s were Rekha's golden decade of experimentation. While the world chased bigger hair, brighter colours, and maximalist trends, she distilled it all through her own lens, turning global fads into a personal vocabulary of style. Every sari, every eyeliner flick, every accessory was filtered through her singular vision—creating a visual vocabulary that, decades later, feels uncannily aligned with the aesthetic instincts of today’s Gen Z.

When Bold Was Blasphemous

In the '80s, Rekha became the ultimate style disruptor with her fearless aesthetic. While others in the industry tiptoed around pastels and donned safe silhouettes, she strutted premieres in plunging necklines, body-hugging saris, and sensuously draped ensembles that scandalised moral gatekeepers and mesmerised audiences.

In an era where a glimpse of midriff could trigger national debates, Rekha weaponised her wardrobe as a declaration of independence. That iconic golden saree from Umrao Jaan with its plunging neckline and curve-hugging construction didn't just costume a character—it authored a manifesto for feminine strength. Every appearance exuded feminine allure, blending sensuality and grace in a way only Rekha could.

What made Rekha’s defiance so compelling was its purpose: to dismantle the industry’s moral gatekeeping. She understood that in Bollywood’s boys’ club, a woman's greatest superpower was her refusal to be boxed in by everyone else's comfort zones.

The backdrop makes it even more remarkable. 1980s Bollywood operated within suffocating moral boundaries where heroines existed in one of two flavours: the perfect wife or the tragic victim. Rekha carved out a third option: the woman who owned her sexuality, her choices, and her narrative.

The Maximalist Manifesto: Cool Girl Prototype

Before "more is more" became every fashion rebel's motto, Rekha had already turned maximalism into second nature. Chokers stacked under cascading necklaces, bangles creating their own beat, and bindis elevated from tradition to beauty punctuation—every detail made perfect sense on her. In Khoon Bhari Maang, her layered jewellery became an extension of her persona, bold and commanding, while Ijaazat showcased her ability to let subtlety carry the same magnetism. Even in Jaanam, she made statement earrings feel at once timeless and undeniably now.

While 1980s Bollywood worshipped at the altar of restraint, Rekha treated abundance as an art form. She invented what we now worship as the "cool girl" formula: effortlessly undone yet meticulously orchestrated, rooted in tradition yet hungry for innovation, accessible yet absolutely untouchable.

Digital Devotees: Gen Z's Screen-Mediated Romance

For a generation raised on aesthetic algorithms and viral beauty moments, Rekha represents the ultimate vintage treasure hunt. Gen Z's romance with her iconography happens entirely through screens—they discover her through carefully curated posts, hypnotic video montages, and digitally restored film stills that transform retro moments into contemporary gold mines.

This screen-mediated love affair has amplified her mystique to supernatural levels. Unlike today's influencers, whose entire lives unfold in real-time transparency, Rekha exists in perpetual cinematic perfection, frozen in peak-glamour moments that can be endlessly studied, dissected, and reconstructed. Young style enthusiasts spend hours decoding her Silsila looks, reverse-engineering her precise kohl application techniques, and translating her signature draping methods for modern wardrobes.

They've made high-end glamour work on a shoestring budget. While Rekha's original looks required designer price tags and inherited jewellery collections, Gen Z has perfected the art of creative translation. They recreate her dramatic eye drama with drugstore finds, channel her statement draping through thrift store discoveries, and mirror her bold accessorising with hunted vintage pieces.

In our age of curated perfection and filtered reality, there's something deeply satisfying about adopting the beauty codes of someone who was authentically, unapologetically herself long before "That girl" became a brand.

 

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