Varun Bahl kickstarts Delhi Couture Week with ‘India, Nouveau’ collection

Fashion Designer Varun Bahl opened the five-day fashion extravaganza in the capital with his India, Nouveau (new) collection. A modern take on traditional silhouettes, his haute couture received a positive response. Aditi Caroli reports.

Fashion Designer Varun Bahl opened the five-day fashion extravaganza in the capital with his India, Nouveau (new) collection. A modern take on traditional silhouettes, his haute couture received a positive response.

Transparency, hand embroidery techniques and hand crafted textures were the key elements of his collection which comprised of lehengas, saris, achkans, shararas, Mughal farshis and anarkalis.

Not just bridal
Most people associate the Couture Week with bridal wear but the designer tried to change that notion. “It was my couture 2012 collection. Generally it’s perceived in India that it is bridal but that is what I wanted to change. We did have a bridal section but there was non-bridal as well.”

The collection progressed from light, stylish outfits to heavier, embellished bridal wear.

Recently held Tarun Tahiliani Couture Exposition, too, was an amalgam of bridal and non-bridal wear.

Inspiration
Starting from Rs 25,000, Bahl’s couture was very modern and chic. “People in India today, the young generations, want to wear Indian clothes but not necessarily look very heavy. They want to look stylish. That was the main inspiration. That’s what I have tried to present,” said the designer.

Colour palette
Most people would consider black to be inauspicious but this is another conception that the designer aimed to alter. Black dominated his couture and it did make a statement. “It’s a special occasion for me and I’m wearing black. I had a lot of black, olive, navy blue, ivory and then shades of red,” said Bahl dressed in a black kurta-pyjama.

Fabrics
Varun Bahl used silk net to the maximum, creating see-through blouses which looked quite sexy. “The transparent effect created by net is the main feature,” he pointed out.

The fashion designer also played with silk, chiffon and velvet.

Day One of the ongoing PCJ Delhi Couture Week (August 8-12) couldn’t have started better!