Biggest trend this wedding season: Grooms clad in dhotis

By Debolina Chakraborty/PTI New Delhi: Light weight sarees or lehengas for the bride and traditional dhotis for the groom are seeing a comeback this wedding season according to the fashion stylists. “We have taken our structured draping to menswear, this has enabled men to wear silhouettes like never before. The last time I wore a dhoti was about 15-18 years back which came off and now I am wearing it again,” says leading fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani. With various wedding themed exhibitions and shows like the three-day Vogue Wedding Show from 1 August and the India Bridal Fashion Week beginning on 7 August, the designers are seen concentrating more on cuts and light weight clothing with colour scheme focusing on pastels and dull gold with the traditional reds and maroons. “The ideal look for the bride is ornate but light weight.The modern bride doesn’t want to wear anything too heavy as she wants to dance all night, even after the wedding. Also, the styling shouldn’t be too overbearing, it should reflect the woman’s personal style,” says Tahiliani. Men are actually the true peacocks! Newer styles and an evolved appropriation of tradition have resulted in some fantastic looking Indian grooms recently. Indian men look great in Indian clothes and sea of options opens up in pyjamas, flared kurtas, full-bodied designs. “Several pieces including newer cuts and treatments for grooms are on the cards. Lots of layering and subdued texturing overlaid with exquisite embroideries and surface embellishments,” says J J Valaya, leading fashion couturier who is also a wedding specialist. [caption id=“attachment_1642935” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A male model in a Tarun Tahiliani collection in this file photo. AFP[/caption] Fashion experts point out that elegance comes first and must never be compromised. Keeping a well-tailored and not too much over the top look to keep in rhythm with the current trend. Indian men can experiment with their look and style. “Use of rich fabric, jewelled tones, and uncut stones for embellishments to give that look of regal splendour is used quite often. Because, the wedding functions are so spread out, today, you have the choice to experiment with various styles and fabrics,” says Anaita Shroff Adajania, Fashion Director for Vogue India. When it comes to accessories, the watch remains the prime statement of fashion. The safas (wedding turbans) are no longer the simple orange or red, but use beautiful brocade work. The mojaris are also increasingly becoming a popular choice of accessory with a lot of them getting customised. “As long as you wear something that makes you look great and you balance your look with the right accessories. The real art in fact, is in balance and control within the excess the Indian weddings are all about,” says Valaya. Tarun Tahiliani has entered into collaboration with Whitcomb and Shaftesbury, tailors of the famed Saville Row in London, to ensure traditional Indian wear sports the fine tailoring of a custom made suit.“Adding this expertise to Indian design, the sherwanis, bundis and bandhgalas shall now fit like a glove,” says Tahiliani. With upcoming collections of Tarun Tahiliani’s ‘Modern Mughals’ to J J Valaya’s ‘The Nautch of Fez’, the number of choices for brides are no less.  ‘Modern Mughals’, draws inspiration from the splendour of the Mughal Era. The opulence of Indian textile, powerful embroidery, rich craftsmanship in all its grandeur and sensuality, designed for the time honoured wedding ritual. “Modern Mughals talks about the global Indian who lives here at home. For me it’s the contemporary woman as exemplified by Lisa Hayden or Kangana Ranaut, who is very Indian but contemporary, so even when they do bridal or wedding will do it in a toned down elegance rather than trying to be totally out of character or to tell brides you’re not a movie star playing a role, you are playing your best role today,” says Tahiliani. Chosen to close the BMW India Bridal Fashion Week 2014, JJ Valaya would be showcasing an interesting conceptual collection titled ‘The Nautch of Fez’, which finds its inspiration amongst the fabled Nautch Girls of India. “Every year, I combine the energy of my constant inspiration, India with that of another culturally charged domain, in this case, Morocco. This year’s collection traverses the Moroccan timeline and visits the influences of its many occupants: The Phoenicians, the Romans, The Arabs, The nomadic Berbers, The Turks and the Spaniards and then infuses them with subtle elements of the Indian Nautch girls of the past,” Valaya told PTI. This season designers have also experimented with colours from metallic hues to dull gold, browns and the traditional wedding colour scheme of reds and maroons will mesmerize the audiences. “We’ve used a lot of earth and dark brown and reds with dull gold. There are a lot of dull gold, Jamewar colours and there are pale Mughal colours,” says Tahiliani. The color story dabbles for ‘The Nautch of Fez’ is antique, metallic and neutral tones in symphony with Indian brights. “Grandeur, intrigue and drama come together in silhouettes which embrace the spirit of the inspiration in cool newness and superb scale,” says Valaya. PTI