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Have cash, will flash
Understatement has gone out of vogue this wedding season. Embroidery, coloured stones and crystal are back in fashion.
The more things change, the more they remain the same. After bidding goodbye to zardosi, bridalwear is going ostentatious with a vengeance. Embroidery, coloured stones and crystal are back in fashion. And if the trousseau sales at the Big CP Sale, co-sponsored by HT City, is any indication, even woven saris are being embellished with embroidery.
Informs Sudhira Gupta, Director, Banaras House: “Bridalwear and formal attire are getting more elaborate. Our woven Banarasi saris used to be the best-sellers, but more brides-to-be are asking for hand-embroidered saris.”
As far as lehengas go, the A-line or the slim-fit is back in favour. So are the lehengas with halter necks and backless cholis, Usha Jain of Greenways tells us. “Flowy lehengas belong to the past, with silhouettes getting closer to the body, A-lines rule the market,” she says.
For saris, the trends are being set by Bollywood. “The polka-dotted sari that Sushmita Sen wore in Main Hoon Na has fired the imagination of women getting married this season,” says Jain. “And the style popularised by Hema Malini in Baghban is much sought after by moms-in-law.”
The classic salwar-kameez, has also got a snazzy avatar, says Sandeep Khanna of Khanna Creations. “Shimmer is in. Earlier, salwar-kameez suits studded with semi-precious stones didn’t find too many takers, but now they out-sell all other stalls,” he says. “To make them stand out, we have to use embroidery that fuses zardosi, aari work and Lucknowi thread work.” So the next time you go to a wedding, expect to be surprised by the bride.
