Style on aisle

Wedding trends

Weddings are growing bigger and fatter by the day. From classy to ornate, although one has seen it all, new trends are emerging in attractive and splendid designs, styles and colours. With the wedding season here, Bengalureans are clearly spoilt for choice with the City offering everything the bride and groom need to flaunt on their big day. Meanwhile, fashion designers take ‘Metrolife’ through a fascinating journey on how they make the day perfect.

Both the bride and groom’s attires have gone through a transformation in the past few years in terms of cuts, styling and detailing. Designer Namrata G says that while all garments are designed keeping the bodytype in mind, lots of changes have come in wedding and cocktail party wear. “There are many features that are changing. The outfits are sporting more of a fusion look rather than a traditional one. There is a lot of colour play, which people were not ready for earlier. The colours vary from canary yellow, aubergine, burnt orange and hot pink to off-whites, beige and creams,” she says.

She adds that her latest collection experiments with the shades of peacock. “The brides even choose from pastels like lime green, light aqua and light peach nowadays.” The cuts and styles are also changing, she says. “Brides are willing to go beyond the traditional — from going narrow on the skirt to going layered. We’ve done ‘lehengas’ which look like Victorian gowns too.” She says that the girls have become bolder with lower necks and even no backs in costumes. “They no longer want to stick to the norm.” Namrata says that she works on different surface ornamentation, like metal beads, pearls, fabrics, ‘dori’, ribbons and does not stick to the tube and bead work. “Zardozi is in along with stonework. It’s more about a mixture of works now,” she says.

A major change in wedding wear is the choice of colours that people are ready to opt for now. Fashion

designer Paresh Lamba, says, “Wedding wear has become more opulent and ornate. More colours have come into play. Earlier for men, in ‘sherwani’, the colours were mostly creams and beige. Now, people are ready to experiment with darker tones of purples, pinks and indigos. Black has made a big resurgence, despite the Indian sensibility of considering it inauspicious for a wedding,” says Paresh.

He says that his latest collection is mostly black, with some colour. “The ‘sherwani’ may be simple, but the accessories have become more ornate. Accessories like heavy brocades and pashmina shawls are in, and they can be draped around a person well to give luxurious feel.” He says that once the shawl is removed, the ‘sherwani’ is much more dressed down making the costume usable later on too. “The layered look is two looks in one costume, making it convenient for the groom. Each garment is now a masterstroke,” he says.

Designers Sanjay Choraria and wife Shammy say that there is a lot more to wedding wear than just the conventional. “Men’s garments are closely fit and tapered now. Earlier men were into comfort fit, but there is a gradual change now. In terms of ‘sherwani’, suits and trousers, the colour palette has moved to shades like turquoise, midnight blues and reds etc. People are staying away from cliched styles,” he says. Sanjay adds that brocades, which is our fabric, is trending in suits.

Shammy points out that all bright colours are in. “Peach, pink and purple are the highlight now. Layering is the latest trend, where we have designed outfits which are ‘lehengas’ with ‘anarkalis’. In the past, we have worked with plain ‘anarkalis’ but now printed ‘anarkalis’ are in. Light work is the focus now,” she says.

Anjali Sharma, a designer, says that minimal is in now. “A lot of brides are steering clear of the bling and opting for the more chic look with stunning jewellery as accents. Many are also opting for their mothers’ wedding ensemble to be revamped, refurbished and repolished, which is a great gesture,” she says. She adds that bright and vibrant rich Indian tones will never go out of trend. “While there are the fresh bright shades, there is also the muted palette which reigns strong. Today’s brides have a lot to choose from,” she says.

Her wedding collection consists of monotones and a lot of crystal clear glitter. “The usage of gold has reduced and the starburst look has been achieved by working with 3D glass beads, zari and sequins. The range is light in terms of weight, blending beautifully with the theme of an easy breezy trousseaux.” Anjali says that the base of Indian traditional clothes is layers. “Layers take an outfit to another dimension and add that extra bit of luxe. In the modern era, a ‘dupatta’ for instance is an added layer. Even a sari is layered while it drapes,” she details.