'The Archies' Is An Uncomplicated Wholesome Film & It's Costumes Reflect That

Riverdale of The Archies is a picturesque and wholesome town, and the costume design captures that vintage twee charm through warm earthy tones.

In the recently released The Archies, the iconic American characters have been adapted for the Indian audience by making them part of the Anglo-Indian community set in the fictional hill station, Riverdale in 1964. When we enter the story, Veronica has just returned to the town after 2 years, rejoining her friend group consisting of Archie, Betty, Jughead, Reggie, Dilton, and Ethel. As Veronica’s dad plans to make a gigantic hotel in the heart of Riverdale - the Green Park - Archie & his gang formulate a plan to fight back, alongside tackling their personal relationships. It’s a straightforward musical with high enough stakes to keep you invested but low enough drama to not make you unnecessarily anxious. It’s a story where you know everything will turn out fine in the end.

The aesthetics play a huge role in the film, crafting a world untouched by the current issues of 2023 and even the issues of 60’s India for the matter. This fictional town of Riverdale is only slightly affected by the world at large. Despite touching upon many still-relevant social-political issues like freedom of the press and the advent of capitalism, with an entire song dedicated to the fact there’s no such thing as being apolitical, and having dialogues address the British Raj and the newly-independent India, the story as a whole remains simple and idyllic, with lovable main characters and villains that border on being a stereotype.

It’s a Zoya Akhtar film, so naturally there are some layers and themes to the story (even if less than what we’ve come to expect from her), but overall, the main focus is on keeping the warmth and charm of the story alive throughout the runtime. And considering that it’s the festive season right now, that makes it the perfect watch for December, making The Archies one of the few well-made, wholesome films suited for the holiday season to come out of India.

The production and costume design, in particular, stand out for contributing so largely to creating that warm aesthetic, the latter of which crafted an entire wardrobe that gave a 60’s Anglo-Indian touch to visually established characters. One of the costuming decisions that stood out for me were Veronica’s dresses and their straight silhouettes that were 60’s appropriate but also worked in opposition to the more conservative A-line dresses that were introduced in the 50’s as ‘The New Look’ by Christian Dior. The straight dresses felt contemporary, made her stand out from the crowd surrounded by massive dresses or sarees, and showed her as being more ‘in’ with the times.

Same with Betty, who is seen wearing pants, shorts and straight dresses, but her modesty and simplicity are highlighted even in those ‘modern’ outfits through collared t-shirts and puffed sleeves.

Difference in Veronica and Betty’s characterization are further emphasized by the type of fabric they are wearing: Betty’s dresses are more free-flowing, whereas Veronica’s dresses are more stiff and look expensive; the length of their hemlines and the style of their necklines differ too.

Reggie is another character whose styling was quite attractive. There was something rather homoerotic about his styling that emphasized his shoulders and general physique. The actor, Vedang Raina, added to that homoerotic energy, making him even more of an attraction for Dilton, who is secretly gay and has a crush on him.

Riverdale of The Archies is a picturesque and wholesome town where human connection is valued over money and greed, where friendship is given precedence over romantic love, and where there are minimal to zero nuances to relationships. It’s all very ideal, and that’s the charm of it. The costume design by Poornamrita Singh captures that vintage twee charm through warm earthy tones, beautifully embroidered pieces, and attention-grabbing patterns. It is delightful, and the costumes alone make the movie a nice comfort watch.