COUTURE EMBRACES STREET
From cropped jumpsuits to asymmetric blazers teamed with pants, both Indian and global couture are toying with refined daywear. Even evening pieces are being realised with street touches
Picture a bride preening and posing in an embroidered jacket teamed with a lehenga skirt brimming with crystals ditching the dupatta, and you’ve pretty much conjured up the modern-day bride. This is what designers have chalked out after keeping brides under the microscope – they want to stand out, be contemporary and have fun at their weddings. Moreover, this season in Paris, we saw street style accents penetrating into couture as designer Georges Hobeika showcased a sequined pencil skirt teamed with a satin trench while Alexandre Vauthier’s collection saw trench coats teamed with kneelength boots. “The lines between Indian and western are blurring. People are looking for mobility and garments in which they can easily move in,” says designer Pankaj Ahuja. Agreeing, stylist Gautam Kalra advocates
change and how modern woman today wants lightweight outfits.
“Modern women don’t want to compromise on comfort and get weighed down by heavy lehengas. Also, they want to invest in something they can wear again,” explains Kalra.
Playing with silhouettes and amalgamating the new with the old is what brides are enjoying. Moreover, people now want to wear couture not just for wedding but other occasions as well — be it launch parties, milestone birthdays or an anniversary.
“The occasions have widened and, as a consequence, people have moved away from lehengas and want newer silhouettes such as an embroidered jacket. This void was filled by saris earlier – the alternative occasionwear.
Now there are myriad options,” adds Ahuja.