This season, Tarun Tahilianai takes inspiration from celestial bodies
INSPIRATION
There is lot to look forward to in the collection. It is called Tarakanna which means stardust and this year we have actually worked the longest. It is occasional and couture. Some of the pieces are ready to wear and will be in the store. In India everyone uses the word couture very loosely. Not every evening wear can be called couture. Couture is a process that you go through. The collection is light, weightless and it floats. It also uses customary drapes. It started with the use of stars and constellations. I am so tired of seeing people wear such heavy clothes. Everyone is dressing up and so the brides and their families are dressing up even more. And later on, they don’t want to touch those clothes. It is a total waste. We are not maharajas and we do not have to dress that way and stand on the podium. It’s better to wear beautiful things which are light and fun. I think the spirit is very important. Everyone has beautiful clothes and jewellery so what defines people is what is inside. Ironically, to define what is inside we went outside to the cosmos. When you look up everything looks the same. There are a millions of things. That is what defines the collection intellectually.
THE lOOK
There are saris, anarkalis, lehngas and sari drapes. I have done a lot of things which are panelled. The opening outfit which Ricky Chatterjee is wearing is just a lot of embroidered borders. There is a lot of panelling so it contours the body and it just flows. It is not a kurta, it is not an anrkali and it is not a gown. Rather it is something that is in between. In the western way it would be called a gown. Some pople may prefer to wear pants below. Many of the people do not have a dupatta. The collection is India-modern. The clothes are very dressy. They can be worn anywhere. Also, my clothes are timeless. I do not follow trends.
EMBEllISHMENT
We did a lot of gota which is laser cut in the form of chands, stars and different things. It is weightless. If you are out in the country where there isn’t so much pollution, you see a million things in the sky. We have used flowers. There is tabling of crystals. The embellishments are assymetrical. In the bridal wear, there are few lehngas that rely on the more traditional Indian styles. There are a lot of winking crystals, stars and chands. It is celestial.
As told to Saimi Sattar