India Couture Week: Clothes that reinvent the idea of wedding wear
Designers at the ongoing annual showcase are flexing their imagination to look beyond ‘ghagra-choli’ and ‘kurta’-pyjama
The annual couture week in Delhi might have become a circus-like extravaganza with social media influencers and celebrity showstoppers, but its biggest draw remains the clothes. Like its past 17 editions, this year’s couture week is led by what sells the most—wedding wear. Each of the 14 participating designers is presenting versions of traditional as well as contemporary lehnga-cholis and kurta-pyjamas, some of which qualify as wearable art—as Lounge found out while sifting through the collections before the week-long showcase started on 23 July.
There are some pieces though that go far beyond the creative margins of fashion, and celebrate a different kind of maximalism. They question traditional forms with unique silhouettes, interplay of embroideries and colours, or an unconventional stitch. Here are some of those creations—frilly and fabulous.
Becoming Love, part of which was shown at the Paris Haute Couture Week last month, has perhaps the most pieces that could be defined as wearable art. From Gustav Klimt’s painting embroidered on a long dress, and a trench coat studded with a Monet-esque scenery, to a flowing golden leaf wrapping the wearer—the collection offers ample reminders of how skilled India’s craftspeople are.
If there was an award for the blingiest collection, it would go to The Palace of Jewels. Each piece is unapologetically over the top, bringing ornamentation of India’s royal palaces to clothes.
East, which will close the couture week on 30 July, sticks to intricate embroidery but experiments with contemporary silhouettes like multi-tiered dresses and shades of black—unusual for a brand famous for following the traditional bridalwear palette of reds and pinks.
Oxynn is a punk and futuristic take on Indian couture. It uses metallic wires and custom textiles to mimic traditional embroideries and mirrored textiles of Gujarat’s Banjara tribe.
Quintessence is a lesson in how to create clothes that are sculpted yet soft and fluid, as visible in this cabaret-style flapper ensemble.
One of the few menswear-focused collections, Metropolis subverts traditional dress codes. Frills replace shirt collars, kurtas take the shape of kaftans, and veils become the new cap—all dismantling predictability in Indian couture.
An extension of the designer’s 2024 couture collection, Antevorta, the latest Arcanum line gives a new form to patola saris, using geometrical and molecular designs and cording techniques. The result: garments that look like they are in motion.
topics
