Who says you need a highly dramatic ramp and perfect music to put up the best showIJ Here, there was no ramp but everything was absolutely picture perfect and grand. The sound of clicking heels and whispers were music to ears. And the drama unfolded through the day’s activities that comprised mehendi, sangeet, wedding ceremony and cocktails.
While most fashion designers come up with interesting themes on the ramp to showcase their collection with the perfect backdrop, designer Anu PD came up with an interesting concept to introduce her wedding line, which unlike other wedding trousseau was not over-the-top and heavily embellished. The collection with an interesting mix of subtle and bright shades, fine fabrics, lace and light embroidery truly was for the modern woman, who may want to give traditional a miss and opt for something bold — like pants paired with an embroidered choli or a jacket.
The designer came up with the concept of Wedding Diaries in collaboration with le Meridien Hotel, wherein she curated a unique day-long photo shoot of wedding functions to capture special moments in a bride’s life, while introducing her bridal collection and promote le Meridien as the wedding venue.
Along with models, there were women from different walks of life invited to pose as bridesmaids and be a part of celebrations. “We have always believed in doing things differently. We wanted to create an experience and not introduce the collection by just doing a ramp show. We wanted to make women from all walks of life a part of this experience and therefore we came up with this concept,” said the designer, whose understanding of Indian textiles and crafts is very much reflected in the collection through tie and dye and other print techniques used in the line.
Anu’s bridal line was inspired by her visit to the Ajanta Caves. Neutral shades like mauve and lighter tones of blue and green were an important part of her collection that was highly wearable. Fabrics with suede look like coated satin, georgettes and crèpe were used extensively. Enhancing the strength of leatherite tapes and hardware details were embellishments in the form of metal findings in different antique finish, that was mother-of-pearl discs and pearl beads. Continuing the trend from her last collection, Anu used a lot of layering in the garments. Detachable collars, yokes and jackets created from frescos — inspired from chatai — added an interesting fusion element to the garments.