Sequins in Sequence

From ancient Egypt and vintage Bollywood to high-end couture and Taylor Swift's era, a rough timeline of sequins, the ornamental surface embellishments that come laced with shine and stories. Plus, all the inspiration for your celebratory mood boards.

- By Tanishka Aggarwal

BEETLE-WING EMBROIDERIES

Among the most famous embroideries in Mughal India and henceforth in the Middle East, parts of Southeast Asia and eventually in Europe was beetle-wing embroidery. The jewel beetle's forewings or elytra is particularly known for its luminescent hues. These beetle casings were essentially the early forms of modern sequins. Pictured here is among the most famous beetle-wing embroidered designs, the Peacock dress, worn by the wife of the Viceroy of India and featuring the embroidery alongside metallic zardozi work. It was made collaboratively in India and by Parisian couture house, House of Worth in 1903.

PHARAOHS AND FLAPPER GIRLS

Post the discovery of the ancient Egyptian ruler Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922, sequins became the rage across the West. The pharaoh was found buried in garments sewn with gold sequin-like disks, a signifier of the cultural practice of burying royals with decorative wealth for the afterlife. In the following years as popularity increased, gelatin sequins, significantly lighter than their metal counterparts, took over markets. The drawback? They'd melt if they became too wet or too warm. The sequins were also part of flapper dresses (named after flapper girls of the roaring twenties), as also seen on actor Carey Mulligan who played Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby (2013).

ZEENAT AMAN'S DARING GOWN