Festive & feisty

Manpriya Singh 

It’s gonna take a lot of sequins and shimmer if you are going to ‘outshine’ the bright and sparkly Diwali.  Go a little off-tangent and a dark shade outfit could just be the much-needed contrast to an already well-lit night. Carry on with that line of thought and the shades of summer (sorbet and pastels) need not be reserved for only the first three quarters of the year. Then there are the florals reinvented, as festive as summery.  

A few Diwali outfit ideas borrowed from the tinsel town — dazzling enough to match up to the brilliance of the season, but not quite enough to be mistaken for a wedding in the family; although Alia Bhatt’s sharara with chikankari embroidery and pink kurta is captioned ‘wedding bells’ on the Insta page! The outfit by Manish Malhotra can easily transition from a pre-wedding event to festive-wear. 

How about palazzos with a twist?  

Festival time is usually equated with an anarkali, a lehenga or a saree. But dressy outfits need not be reserved to fabric-heavy silhouettes. Take the right cues and ditch the ethnic-wear, the way Kareena did with an all embroidered ensemble. Dressed in an Anamika Khanna outfit, she graced an award night looking festive enough in shimmery gold floor length cape. “You have to ensure two connecting and core elements while dressing up for Diwali or any of the Indian festivals for that matter. Your outfit has to be dressy enough to spell cheer and it has to have at least one Indian element. If you are wearing a dressy jumpsuit, ensure that it has Indian embroidery or motifs,” city-based designer Malvika Punj, who runs the label Mul, talks of balancing the outfit. She adds, “Or if you are already wearing a lehenga that is very Indian, make sure it is not heavily worked upon and is quite contemporary; for instance an off shoulder blouse or a cropped blouse.” 

What better way to spell tradition than an all-over outfit in Benarasi brocade and yet be able to do away with dupatta? Dia Mirza is not just ‘wedding ready’ as declared by her on a social media account in the handcrafted Benarasi, but also festival ready. The options are open, the ideas are endless!