Big fat weddings are fun

Costume designer Niharika Khan, who worked on not one but 15 big fat weddings for the Yashraj production Band Baaja Baraat.

Designing clothes for weddings is an uphill task. But costume designer Niharika Khan, who worked on not one but 15 big fat weddings for the Yashraj production Band Baaja Baraat, says it’s been fun experimenting with colour palettes, textures, fabrics and material.

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Depending on the budget set by planners Bittu Sharma (Ranveer Singh) and Shruti Kakkar (Anushka Sharma), Khan’s brief for the wardrobe would change. For instance, for medium-budget weddings, she worked with a lot more colour and sequins. “In a medium or low-budget wedding, clothes may not be beautiful but they needed to be louder and loaded with bling,” she says.

Director Maneesh Sharma had briefed her to design the wardrobe according to the profile of the wedding. So for upmarket weddings, Khan says she used richer and more sophisticated fabrics as that strata of society chooses to
wear designers such as Varun Bahl, Rohit Bal or Tarun Tahiliani. “I chose subtler colours, and sparingly used handmade embroidery for high budget wedding trousseaus. We worked with fabrics such as real silk, georgette, velvets and chiffon,”Khan says.

According to Khan, netted fabric is the next big thing in bridal wear or wedding trousseaus. “Embroidery on net is in fashion. A lot of designers are using it this season. For Anushka’s lehenga (skirt) in the film, done by Bahl, we have used silk embroidery on net. Below the net, we have put a sequined lehenga. Panels of the lehenga wereembroidered on the top and the entire lower lehenga has chic sequins,” she adds.