Pretty playful!

Manpriya Singh

Is the years’ of conditioning finally shedding its layers? Giving way to playfulness rather than perfection? A bride playing footsie with the groom; and while at it, giving a sneak peek into her true persona, a lehenga stumped with embroidered sneakers, a tattoo sharing space with mehendi, dupatta making peace with the pony tail.

Kriti Sanon played the rebellious bride at her best; bold, contemporary and sassy. The modern Indian bride might not yet exist left and right but exists on the ramp, as the ultimate fantasy, the parallel muse, the creative provocation for designers. Like Monisha Jaising and her The Sailing Bride, the collection that as she put it, “was inspired by a wedding on a luxury yacht.”

Destinations weddings could be the possible accomplice. Shares Anju Modi on how it has affected the bridal couture, “The lehengas have different interpretations as per the destination like the weather...” Amidst myriad destinations and moods of a wedding, “The most interesting part is the bride.” Once off stage, Kriti admitted, “The outfit is a little bit of what you are if you are a sporty tomboyish girl...It would be definitely shock my parents but if it is okay by everybody then why not?”

Spare a thought

A bride on the beach, a luxury yacht; could be anything; coy or out there. It’s a whim. As for the bridesmaids, they could well be resting on the decks. Like, they were at Jaising’s show.

Together they make for a thought- provoking duo, the provocative designers and the thinking bride. The colour palette is slowly giving some lee-way to the gunmetal grey, charcoal to ivory with gothic, dark, bohemian for inspirations. Varun Bahl, while doing a man’s show in Chandigarh joked, “There are times when brides themselves come to me asking for ivory and its variants, while the bride’s mother wants to go all pink.” His latest collection at AICW titled Song Of the Flower had more than a fair share of saree gowns, saree lehengas and pant suits in black and florals. It was his collection three seasons or more ago that introduced the idea of black for a bride.

Gaurav Gupta, also known for his sultry take on fashion, presented Salt and Cipher, a red carpet look for the upcoming bridal season if you dare. Plunging necklines, zardosi embroidered jacket, peplum jacket teamed with flared skirts...metallic make-up, Grecian ear pieces and the like. Even the fairy tale inspiration came with a twist. The runway was turned into an enchanting forest, a rustle of silk and abundant presence of fairy dust.

Modern & multi-purpose

Meanwhile, elsewhere there is much ado about the modern Indian women herself, let alone the bride. Rahul Mishra dedicated his line Tree Of Life to multi-tasking women. His functional couture, for woman who need to flip in and out of several roles, comprised bomber jackets, jumper with lehengas, cape and jackets with sarees.

As for the bride, designers are enamoured by the bold, sassy girl who bows down to applause, not someone else’s wishes. Much less, the conventions!

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