Crystals to light up Delhi Couture Week

Delhi’s Couture Week is bringing on the bling, literally! Couture Week will see the installations of contemporary set designer Sumant Jayakrishnan, who has worked with names like Louis Vuitton and Dior.

Delhi’s Couture Week is bringing on the bling, literally. Partnering with high-end crystal manufacturer Swarovski Elements, Couture Week will see the installations of contemporary set designer Sumant Jayakrishnan, who has worked with names like Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Dior in the past.BR.

Sadly, Jayakrishnan’s 20-foot high crystal chandelier, what was touted to be the pièce de la resistance of the show, will now be relegated to storage for use at another event. "Because of the rains, the fashion design council of India (FDCI) shifted the the venue indoors.

Now unfortunately, the venue doesn’t have the height to accommodate the chandelier," says Jayakrishnan. However, guests will be able to see his 12 and a half foot tall installation, featuring a cosmic stone in the center and a bed of mirrored surface.

Another features sheets of layered glass and is nine feet high. “I have used about two lakh crystals in all,” reveals Jayakrishnan. “And it has taken a month and a half and several teams working on specialized tasks to finish the project.”

According to the designer, these pricey installations are created and are then perhaps put into storage. But he insists the Couture Week installations have been made for reuse.

While he can’t put a number on the cost of such a project, Jayakrishnan does reveal that each crystal comes with a heavy price tag of its own. “Crystals can vary from Rs 30 to Rs 1,500 per piece. Since we’ve used about two lakh pieces, you can only imagine the cost,” he says.