With India's expansive history of embroidery and handwork, India Couture Week is always going to be a grand affair. But this year, it seems to have outdone itself.
Originally launched in 2008 under the auspices of the Fashion Design Council of India, the event once again offered sumptuous looks that walk a line between tradition and modern aesthetics. Each look was made by hand and featured plenty of the delicate handwork that Indian artisans are famous for.
On and off the runway, the week has also been a glittering affair, with Bollywood stars turning models for many of the featured designers.
Pearl Academy
Fresh from starring with Dev Patel in the film Monkey Man, actress Sobhita Dhulipala modelled for Pearl Academy, wearing a buttermilk lacework bandeau top and straight skirt that was covered in layers of long fringes of matching beading.
Dolly J
Earlier in the week, actress Sonakshi Sinha walked for the label Dolly J, as part of a collection called La Vie En Rose. Given the title, it was little surprise that Sinha's dress was pale rose pink, and featured a corseted body, tiny shoulder straps and a tailored fit. Densely worked in beading in antique gold, silver and light pink, the dress had cold-shoulder sleeves that stretched behind into a train, and featured open-cut work, and three-dimensional leaves and flowers.
Siddartha Tytler
Actors Rahul Khanna and Malaika Arora walked for couturier Siddartha Tytler, in complementary dark looks. Khanna was dressed in a zip-fronted, black velvet sherwani jacket, that had embroidered flowers and wheat sheaves in a latte colour around the hem, while Arora wore a lehenga with an open front top, and a skirt covered in fluid curves of pewter, old gold and black floss silk embroidery.
Jayanti Reddy
Hit Netflix show Heeramandi star Aditi Rao Hydari took to the runway for the Hyderabad designer Jayanti Reddy. She wore a front-fastening peplum top with wide, kick flare trousers, both in a rich shade of champagne, these swayed beautifully under the weight of all the tone-on tone beading. Hydari's look was finished with a Ami and slick of red lipstick, with her hair worn down.
Gaurav Gupta
At Gaurav Gupta, who is already considered a go-to for red carpet dressing, The Archies co-stars Khushi Kapoor and Vedang Raina both walked the runway. Kapoor wore an embellished lehenga that featured a cropped blouse with long, trailing sleeves and a matching kick flare skirt, that were both smothered in parchment beadwork. Raina joined her on stage in a black velvet sherwani suit, with the long jacket covered in panels of black-on-black bugle beading, and worn over black trousers.
Also at the Gupta show, two models took to the stage in complementary black looks, that were entirely hand embroidered in a brightly coloured garden scene. Sombre yet colourful, the work was remarkable even by couture standards and would have taken hundreds of hours to execute.
Amit Aggarwal
The avant-garde designer Amit Aggarwal meanwhile let his imagination soar, presenting a collection that delved into how clothing inhabits space around the body. Staying true to his continuing fascination with the point where “science meets fashion”, this latest collection involved complex coils and curls of fabric that owed more to physics that drapery.
Rahul Mishra
Canadian actress Lisa Ray opened the show for Rahul Mishra, in a flashback that the former model described as being a “full circle moment”. First discovered while on holiday in India with her parents, Ray became India's first "supermodel" in the 1990s, before turning to acting.
For the Mishra show she wore a strapless fitted gown with a bodice heavily embellished in gold. The skirt was cut to be draped over one shoulder, and fall to a train behind. In fine tulle, the skirt was handworked with golden flowers and motives around the hem. Clearly having enjoyed the moment, Ray posted her look with the caption: “Back on the runway, celebrating fashion, and feeling incredibly blessed.”
