Designer Rohit Bal’s collection Guldasta was an ode to the flowers of Kashmir and not only challenged his creative grammar but societal mindsets, particularly on Section 377. By Team Viva
When you cover a Rohit Bal show, you go in with certain expectations and an air of classicism. No two ways about it. But on Sunday, when he unravelled his very heartfelt ode to his passion through a collection called Guldasta, not only did he top expectations but his own work over the last couple of years to say the least. little wonder then that he did not do any previews or share information of his almost 90-piece elaborate portfolio that had the crowd and even peers gasping with surprise at the finale of the Indian Couture Week. For no two pieces were alike by association. And if indeed beauty has a purpose that many pageants have now rubbed into us, Bal too had one. Having inspired love and respect for his creativity, he sent out a powerful message, a cross denouncing Section 377 embroidered in lush red thread on his black shirt. Question is can we return the love and respectIJ
Of course, some of the silhouettes and yardage were trademark but it is in the way he played them together that had us in thrall, sometimes using accents than the full play of each, repurposing each to modern sensibilities and the core Indian essence. The very structured Renaissance style jacket and high necks on flared skirts, translucent peeks through fluid monochromes, the sari with off-shoulder capes and quilted boleros making for an elegant strut, the collection was as much courtly as it was about individual grace anywhere.
There was an interplay of textures, quilted with crushed, of embroidery and prints and of colours. We loved his ivory collection, beginning with the indigo striped cape thrown casually on flared off-white skirts and then progressing with embossed prints, threadwork and broaches, to gold motifs, all subtly creeping up lapels, folds and trails to lend an understated extravagance. And then there was a blush of colour to lift a look, a flamingo splashing a dulcet glow on white. Finally there was the boldness of the colour splash, his usual greens and reds on black. In one cape on supermodel Nayanika Chatterjee, he played with yellow, gold and red leheriya style stripes. The trails were emblazoned with huge florals, sometimes incandescently ornate, at other times muted matte, but draping the model with a swirl of self-confidence that was organic rather than dramatic. The luxury here is not about wearing it on your sleeve but owning it with your mind.
And finally, a word on the flowers, Bal’s very own tribute to the Kashmir Valley and images he has grown up with — sunflowers, poppies, tulips and peonies, in his words. From thread embroidery to gold wire and zardozi, he has tried to create these flowers in both realistic ways and imaginative sweeps. A lover of history, Bal has been academically faithful to the inspirations of botanical paintings and works by some of the great masters of the Renaissance period. Yet for his European inspirations, his fabrics are home-grown and organic — cotton silk blends, chanderis, silk organzas, silks and velvets.
No couturier understands Indian women better than Bal when it comes to body type and sensibilities. And there’s something for everybody in this edition’s bespoke lookbook.