Designer Rohit Bal’s Balance is a ready-to-wear collection starting from Rs15000. By Ankita Jain
For most, Rohit Bal’s work existed behind the glass façade of a shop window. You could applaud it, be seduced by it, but never possess it. It caught your imagination and informed your style choices even if you couldn’t afford it. But with Balance, he creates a fine balance between haute couture and prêt-à-porter at modest price starting from Rs15000 for both men and women.
The collection, a ready-to-wear, is a wide array of beautiful hues moving from off white, black, midnight blue and wine. It ranges from casual to occasion wear featuring silhouettes like floor sweeping anarkalis, elegant Jodhpuri pants and jackets, that epitomise the quintessential Rohit Bal opulence. Bal also experimented with motifs which ranged from birds to florals.
Most designers claim a mark-up for an attribute — Sabyasachi for revitalising classicism, Manish Arora for vibrant vision, Tarun Tahiliani for opulence, Manish Malhotra for a touch of stardom — but Rohit Bal is perhaps the only Indian designer who also gives value for money, having started out with Rs800 khadi shirts a decade ago. Rohit Bal plans to open around 40 Balance stores in the next two years.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar