<p>P earls are a recent favourite in the fashion circuit, putting on the backburner the notion that they make you look older. Deepika Padukone walked the red carpet in a surreal ivory sari with an ethereal pearl and crystal-sheathed bustier blouse at the Cannes Film Festival last year.</p>.<p>Alia Bhatt debuted at the MET Gala this year in a bride-inspired gown with over one lakh snowy pearls.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><span class="bold">Dainty drops </span></p>.<p>“Pearls are versatile in nature, and can be used on any fabric. I prefer using embroidery on tulle because it is delicate and sheer,” says fashion designer Shehla Khan, who has used pearls for a gilded effect in her latest collection.</p>.<p>Pearls go with everything but it’s important to let them be the statement rather than an add-on, she says. </p>.<p>Designer Ashwin Agrawal of the fashion label Eeksha has used pearls on feather fringes, as finishing on hems and in intricate hand embroidery. “I feel pearls work best with tulle, chiffon and silk organza, owing to their sheer elegance,” he says.</p>.<p>Pearls lend grace to an outfit. Their chic and refined look has been embraced by the likes of Princess Diana and Kate Middleton. “Pearls have a timeless appeal,” shares designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla whose pearl-encrusted creations have been worn on red carpets on the global stage. </p>.<p>“When we started back in 1987, Abu’s grandmother would hand-embroider dupattas with pearl laces for our ensembles,” says Sandeep, adding, “Since then, we have added shimmering dimensions to chikankari embroidery with pearl adornments, edged pure georgette dupattas with pearl laces, and even experimented with freshwater pearls hand-embroidered on statement collars and blouses.”</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><span class="bold">Perfect picks</span></p>.<p>Designer Shloka Khialani feels the tonal variation of every pearl meets every mood. “We work extremely closely with mother of pearl beads in our hand embroideries. Classic pearls in a variety of shapes and sizes perfectly pair with silver and champagne glass cut beads in our hand embellishments,” she explains. </p>.<p>Shloka favours georgettes, crepes, chiffons, organzas and typically flowy fabrics. In her latest collection, all embellishments are hand-embroidered with Kasab zari thread to create unconventional and beautiful motifs.</p>.<p>“We recently created a meticulously hand-embellished jacket with hundreds of mother of pearl beads and white gold chains for our Paris Fashion Week collection. The combination of these unconventional materials led to the creation of a timeless crop jacket, which could be styled in so many ways,” she explains. </p>.<p>Where are the pearls sourced from? “They come from different parts of the world. The mother of pearl is hand cut specially in India into leaf, floral, square and round shapes. Classic pearls come in a multitude of shapes — I prefer using shapes like drops and spheres,” she shares. </p>.<p class="CrossHead"><span class="bold">Dreamy touch</span></p>.<p>While pearls exude an everlasting charm, there are many challenges in adding them to garments. Fashion designer Amit GT says, “While matching and sorting, pearl strings sometimes get tangled. It is a time-consuming process because they have to be done with extra care, as certain high-quality pearls are expensive.” </p>.<p>The chosen fabric must also be able to sustain the weight of the pearls. “Ensuring that the colour of the pearls work with the garments is a challenge. While most other beads can be dyed to all sorts of shades and hues, we prefer pearls in their natural colour — which at times makes it difficult to find the perfect shade of ivory to match the fabric, as all pearls are unique,” shares Shloka. </p>.<p><strong>Quick tips</strong></p>.<p><em>Cues to keep in mind while wearing pearls</em></p>.<p>*Avoid overkill: Stay away from pairing pearl-embellished outfits with pearl accessories.</p>.<p>*Shloka advises that one should break the monotony of pearls with some metal. White gold, gold, silver or rose gold metal additions — be it in the form of jewellery, hardware in bags or belts, or even in footwear, will prove to be a good mix.</p>.<p>*Amit says put on pearls last and remove them first, be it in your outfits or as accessories.</p>
<p>P earls are a recent favourite in the fashion circuit, putting on the backburner the notion that they make you look older. Deepika Padukone walked the red carpet in a surreal ivory sari with an ethereal pearl and crystal-sheathed bustier blouse at the Cannes Film Festival last year.</p>.<p>Alia Bhatt debuted at the MET Gala this year in a bride-inspired gown with over one lakh snowy pearls.</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><span class="bold">Dainty drops </span></p>.<p>“Pearls are versatile in nature, and can be used on any fabric. I prefer using embroidery on tulle because it is delicate and sheer,” says fashion designer Shehla Khan, who has used pearls for a gilded effect in her latest collection.</p>.<p>Pearls go with everything but it’s important to let them be the statement rather than an add-on, she says. </p>.<p>Designer Ashwin Agrawal of the fashion label Eeksha has used pearls on feather fringes, as finishing on hems and in intricate hand embroidery. “I feel pearls work best with tulle, chiffon and silk organza, owing to their sheer elegance,” he says.</p>.<p>Pearls lend grace to an outfit. Their chic and refined look has been embraced by the likes of Princess Diana and Kate Middleton. “Pearls have a timeless appeal,” shares designer duo Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla whose pearl-encrusted creations have been worn on red carpets on the global stage. </p>.<p>“When we started back in 1987, Abu’s grandmother would hand-embroider dupattas with pearl laces for our ensembles,” says Sandeep, adding, “Since then, we have added shimmering dimensions to chikankari embroidery with pearl adornments, edged pure georgette dupattas with pearl laces, and even experimented with freshwater pearls hand-embroidered on statement collars and blouses.”</p>.<p class="CrossHead"><span class="bold">Perfect picks</span></p>.<p>Designer Shloka Khialani feels the tonal variation of every pearl meets every mood. “We work extremely closely with mother of pearl beads in our hand embroideries. Classic pearls in a variety of shapes and sizes perfectly pair with silver and champagne glass cut beads in our hand embellishments,” she explains. </p>.<p>Shloka favours georgettes, crepes, chiffons, organzas and typically flowy fabrics. In her latest collection, all embellishments are hand-embroidered with Kasab zari thread to create unconventional and beautiful motifs.</p>.<p>“We recently created a meticulously hand-embellished jacket with hundreds of mother of pearl beads and white gold chains for our Paris Fashion Week collection. The combination of these unconventional materials led to the creation of a timeless crop jacket, which could be styled in so many ways,” she explains. </p>.<p>Where are the pearls sourced from? “They come from different parts of the world. The mother of pearl is hand cut specially in India into leaf, floral, square and round shapes. Classic pearls come in a multitude of shapes — I prefer using shapes like drops and spheres,” she shares. </p>.<p class="CrossHead"><span class="bold">Dreamy touch</span></p>.<p>While pearls exude an everlasting charm, there are many challenges in adding them to garments. Fashion designer Amit GT says, “While matching and sorting, pearl strings sometimes get tangled. It is a time-consuming process because they have to be done with extra care, as certain high-quality pearls are expensive.” </p>.<p>The chosen fabric must also be able to sustain the weight of the pearls. “Ensuring that the colour of the pearls work with the garments is a challenge. While most other beads can be dyed to all sorts of shades and hues, we prefer pearls in their natural colour — which at times makes it difficult to find the perfect shade of ivory to match the fabric, as all pearls are unique,” shares Shloka. </p>.<p><strong>Quick tips</strong></p>.<p><em>Cues to keep in mind while wearing pearls</em></p>.<p>*Avoid overkill: Stay away from pairing pearl-embellished outfits with pearl accessories.</p>.<p>*Shloka advises that one should break the monotony of pearls with some metal. White gold, gold, silver or rose gold metal additions — be it in the form of jewellery, hardware in bags or belts, or even in footwear, will prove to be a good mix.</p>.<p>*Amit says put on pearls last and remove them first, be it in your outfits or as accessories.</p>
