By Sonali Jha Chatterjee
The Big Day is here. The bride and groom are in a tizzy: what to wear, what will go best with their personalities? Today the stylists are there to advise and guide. The first and foremost advice that most stylists give to the couple is to ‘Be yourself’.
Says Anaita Shroff Adajania, fashion director for Vogue India magazine, “What we believe at Vogue is that it’s very important to be and look like a bride that talks about who you are as a person. That day is very special and the day is about you. If you are someone who is bohemian, don’t try to be a demure bride. If you are someone who is very quiet don’t be loud. Be who you are.”
Personality matters: The couple at the centre
Knowing the personality of the client is important for fashion designer, Falguni Peacock. She takes time to converse with the bride to be, understands her and then creates her wedding lehenga. A shy bride will have certain preferences when compared to one who is an extrovert.
Experimenting with styles on the day of the wedding is a complete no-no. If you generally wear your hair down then wear your hair down on your wedding as well. “Don’t suddenly make a tight pasted bun and use a bright red lipstick which you have never used before so no one knows who you are!” cautions Adajania.
Jewellery: Less is more
Anita Dongre, fashion designer, believes. “When it comes to accessorising and jewellery, the concept of ‘less is more’ is the key. Wearing one statement piece that complements the outfit works wonders for the look.”
This perception is echoed by Monica of label Jade that, an heirloom jewellery piece can always be paired with the lehenga or sari and make all the difference.
Foremost fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani also feels that less is more as far as jewellery is concerned. A necklace, maangtika or fresh flowers can do wonders to the bride.
Adajania agrees that jewellery is something people are still struggling with. They tend to bring out everything. It is not essential to wear everything you own. “Pick one or two hero pieces that add to your look. Team your jewellery with your dress. The maangtika or the maathapatti which is in great demand could be paired with a necklace” she advises.
Outfits: Light and structured
Brides often complain about the heavy lehengas and say they cannot move around in it. Those days are gone. The embellished blouse is biggest trend this season. With a jewelled blouse you could do away with the heavy necklace. The heavy lehenga can now take a back seat. Now you can dance to your heart’s content and have as much fun as you want.
Today’s brides and grooms are setting new fashion trends instead of following them blindly. Shirts, jackets and off-shoulder tops with lehengas are a big trend. You can do away with the dupatta if you want to. It is quite the in-thing to separate the heavy lehenga from the heavy blouse. You get two different outfits. Wear the lehenga with a polo neck top or a shirt. Wear the heavy blouse with a hand-woven simple sari.
According to Monica who believes that Jade symbolises subtle luxury. “Weddings should not go with trends. This is eternal.” The idea is to create timeless outfits which can be worn again.
Tahiliani finds that increasingly, new generation brides and grooms want to be able to enjoy themselves with friends and therefore, want to feel light. As a result, heavy work on their outfits is not in vogue. What you wear to the most important day of your life is not a costume and should be a part of your regular wardrobe. Therefore, brides float in gossamer lightness with engineered dupattas, easy to manage. Structured drapes are very much in fashion because it allows the bride to wear her outfit without much fuss and then forget about it. So also for the grooms. He creates similar structured drapes where everything is zipped in place so that the groom has fun even while wearing a dhoti.
“Today, grooms can experiment with classic silhouettes with a modern twist. Be it in the details on the buttons, the pocket squares, or the butti print on the inner lining of a bandh gala, there’s always a minimal touch of modernity,” says Dongre. “The menswear line sees some traditional safaas and further experimentation with fabric texturing and silhouettes,” she adds.
Colours: Pastels rule
Stylists opine that of late there has been a gradual moving away from the traditional bride’s attire. There is a lot of attention to subtle and small detailing. 3D floral embroidery finds its place with all the designers. Just as paisley was the thing some years ago, now it is all about flowers, embroidered or fresh.
Designers are now looking at off-pastel colours as well. Not bright yellow or bright green, but a dusty pink, a dusty green or a dusty blue.
For Dongre, the colour palette this season speaks of a variety of jewel tones with deep ruby reds, emerald greens, sapphire blues and softer pastel shades.
Mauvy blue and grey are colours Falguni and Shane Peacock experimented with as well and found most brides-to-be were attracted towards these colours. Powder blue is another colour doing the rounds this season and finds a lot of takers. In fact, Jade has ivory for the bride as well. It has a tone- on- tone feel to it. This can be enhanced with varying degrees of embellishments.
Pastels for grooms have been trending of late too. New age pastels, which are subdued and classy- like orange, green and pink, look great on grooms. Black and light blue velvet tuxedos are also in vogue. Besides, salmon is a big colour this season. This goes wonderfully with orange red bundis.
According to Tahiliani, brides are opting for paler colours which are closer to what they would wear normally. So, on the wedding day they are being themselves and comfortable in it.
Finally, those days are here. Each day leading up to the wedding has its significance. Tying the various threads of tradition, joy, religiosity, music, dance, food and modernity, this is indeed a unique experience. And in the midst of it all, enjoying every moment and gathering memories are the ‘Bride and the Groom’. (TWF)
Image: Anita Dongre Collection
