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She calls the shots

QUEENIE SINGH: n the lab of Indian fashion industry, the one constant is — the modern Indian bride.

She calls the shots

 Aanchal Kumar



Ashima S. Batish

n the lab of Indian fashion industry, the one constant is — the modern Indian bride. Variables, true to their nature, change with each season. Different permutations and combinations of colours, cuts, silhouettes, embellishments, and embroideries are experimented with to suit her style sheet. That the designs are for the modern Indian bride is a staple prologue to any collection, so much so that it has begun to sound like a cliché. But who is the modern Indian bride? Why is she the muse of fashion and jewellery designers? Is she for real or is she an illusion to generate more business? To some, she is the right mix of bridezilla and defiance, while others see her as strong-willed. She gets into the minute details of her wedding preparations, yet she is relaxed. Here is demystifying the modern Indian bride, understanding what works for her and how she sets her own rules.

DICTATING THE TRENDS

Queenie Singh, jewellery designer

The bride of today is the one who dictates the trends. She makes us innovate, pushes us to create what makes sense to her. Eight or 10 years back, a bride would buy heavy jewellery only to stack it in her safe or as an investment. We have come a long way since then — from designing over-the-top pieces to practical, functional jewellery, A pendant can be used as a maang teeka, a choker can take be worn as a bracelet, strings can be detached from a heavy necklace for a cocktail party. Designing and creating heavier pieces is not a difficult task, marrying pragmatism with aesthetics is the real challenge, which is what the bride now seeks.

ON HER OWN TERMS

Jassi Kaur, wedding planner, actor & anchor

Only in a handful of cases, the big fat Punjabi weddings are replaced by simpler, customised counterparts. The number, however, is gradually increasing, with modern-day brides calling the shots. Instead of inviting a thousand people on the D-day, she flies out the immediate family and close friends for a destination wedding. She doesn’t encourage mindless spending on décor, which even we second as a complete waste of resources. The brides begin their groundwork for wedding much in advance by reading online reviews of service providers. They give importance to budget and accordingly plan décor and other expenses. I know of brides, who didn’t hire wedding planners, yet their weddings were worthy of case studies. The bride of today is independent and knows how to manage finances.

ENJOYING AT HER OWN WEDDING

Jyotsna Tiwari, fashion designer

Ten years ago, the bride and the groom were made to perch on the podium and stay there till the guests were done with the wedding buffet. Thank god, things have changed and most importantly, the bride is no more the won’t-lift-my-veil girl. Brides ensure that they enjoy all the traditional ceremonies and for the same reason, seek designs that are not very heavy for the occasion. They also don’t want to be decked up in heavy jewellery. They team up a heavily embellished lehenga with minimalistic jewellery. Nau-lakha haar is passé, replaced by statement pieces. My recent experience of working for a modern bride is designing a mint-coloured lehenga with thread work, which ‘made light’ of heavy bridal wear. And how she enjoyed her wedding!

OUT-OF-THE-BOX THINKING

Kismet Jewell Nakai, wedding photographer

The new-age brides think out-of-the-box to make their weddings memorable. Pre-wedding shoots is their invention and it, has, thankfully replaced the boring, silly shoots. She is brave enough to break conventions, she won’t think twice before not inviting people who don’t matter to her wedding. I recently shot a wedding, which had attendance of only 60 persons, making it a very personal affair. It is the bride who now decides the theme of the wedding and even takes care of other minute details. And she certainly knows how to enjoy herself to the hilt.


SELF-RELIANT

Rupina Singh, HR Manager, a recent bride

Growing up, I attended a lot of weddings and realised that everyone, but for the groom and bride, was enjoying celebrations. I wanted it done differently at my wedding. The services of a wedding planner were hired, but a lot of my ideas were executed. I even knew exactly what would make it to the menu. Being a financially independent girl, I was clear that I won’t burden my parents with the wedding expenses. That, I believe, is the most important attribute of the modern Indian bride. 


IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT

Anju Modi, fashion designer

Designing for a true-blue modern bride is like an adventure trip you are raring to take. What makes me design trousseau for a bride is her clarity of thought about what she wants. She is certain of herself and her choices. She won’t wear red on the D-day and will prefer to experiment with colours. No wonder, I am getting as many orders of lehengas in reds and maroons as in greens and blues. She is so confident that she can even make black look like ‘the’ bridal colour. I recently designed for a bride, who briefed me about the karigari she wants on her bridal wear and this involvement only makes me design with more enthusiasm. She was sensible and assertive, and at the same time open to ideas, and that made us create a lehenga, which I am sure will become an heirloom piece. 

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