Transforming into a prince

Style Quotient

While the women have a variety to choose from, whether it is the traditional lehenga or the sari, the men also have been experimenting a lot with their look for the traditional events, no longer sticking to ‘kurtas’ alone.

Designer Riyaz Gangji spoke to Metrolife about the various trends in the garment and the things that one should keep in mind while buying one.

Riyaz says that the style of the sherwani varies from person to person. “Different ‘sherwanis’ are designed for different occasions like  ordinary wedding, royal wedding, barathis etc,” says Riyaz.


“This particular sherwani is an anarkali type sherwani, which is styled with a belt. It is based on the style of Shivaji, so the looks and feel is based on that style,” he adds.

Riyaz informs that the garment has a lot of dori work on it and it is encrusted with white crystals. “It has been made in a beige gold combo,” he says.

Riyaz says that a sherwani is available in varied styles depending on what someone wants. “As far as the current trends in the garment are concerned, there are different styles which are in fashion like chogas, rajputana and moghuls sherwani,” he says. “Indo-Western and jackets like matrix have been there for some time,” he adds.

Riyaz says that there a few colours that one can go for in sherwanis. “These include cream, gold, black, maroon and wine red,” he says. He also reminds that while buying a sherwani, one should never mix up one’s influences.

“Go to only one person whom you trust,” he says. He also says that the garment is available in many materials.

“Right now cloth materials from countries like France are available in India,” he says. “You can go for silk, cotton and handmade handlooms which are readily available,” says Riyaz.

“Today, technology has improved to such an extent that you can get fabrics as per your requirement. Like cotton can be made into polyester and polyester to cotton.”

As far as the occasions are concerned, the use of the Sherwani is limited to big events. “Various occasions like weddings, social parties, NRI functions are perfect for a sherwani,” says Riyaz. “Indian craftsmanship is respected everywhere. So one can wear it outside also. While the sherwani in itself is quite a glittery outfit, it can be matched with accessories. “You can wear it with Western shoes, Indian mojari and sandals
depending on the theme,” says Riyaz.

Looking smart and elegant!

Arindam Mitra, who works with a automobile company, says that he wore a sherwani for his friend’s wedding.

“I wanted to wear something more traditional and decided to go for a ‘sherwani’,” he says.

“I think the kind you buy depends entirely on your personality. I have a single tone, black one which had a little embroidery on the ends,” he says. “It looks both smart and elegant,” he adds. He says that it looks good with bare minimum accessories. “A nice watch and a pair of good quality leather slippers and the look is complete,” he says.