Cut(s) to Monsoon

Gurnaaz Kaur

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While rain brings much-needed respite from the heat, when it comes to fashion, monsoon is one season when things can get a bit tricky. Here’s a style-friendly guide in a time when constant downpour and lack of sunlight can cast a gloomy spell.

In times when working from home and social distancing can add to the low feeling, your fashion diary should be a reason to uplift your spirit. Nelson Jaffery, head of design for Liva, says even though social gatherings are a big no, wearing bright colours and prints can make you feel good. “Fabrics play an important role in the outfit that you wear. Opt for sustainable and nature-based fabrics like viscose and modal, which offer great drapes, fluidity and comfort,” he says.

New route

Designer Jasmine Bains vouches for more formal cotton-satin shirts with pants for office and relaxed kurtas with wide-legged pants for Indian classic suit sets. “I’m using new fabrics like Cupro; it’s 100 per cent cotton, and the feel of some blends is just like silk, such as the Cuprocrepe, Cuprostin and Cuprogeorgette. I’ve started working with these sustainable fabrics since last season. They promise comfort in this season like no other.”

With their specialisation in Indian-wear, designers Sonu Shergill and Pari of Aqua in Sector 10, Chandigarh, say, “Opt for mulmul or 100 per cent cotton in monsoon. Any heavy fabric such as crepe, georgette or silk is an absolute no.”

Colour code

If Nelson’s pick for the season is yellow to brighten up your day, for Sonu and Pari the palette includes, “lime green, pista-green, baby blue.”

“Colours such as blue, green, yellow, pink and orange are best for monsoon. It is the season to wear boxy silhouettes, as they are comfortable and with sharp necklines can be edgy as well,” suggests designer Gautam Gupta.

As we move to prints from colours, Jasmine says flowy knee-length dresses in tie dye with some beautiful patterns is a hit. “Also, apart from flower power, I strongly believe in tonal dressing from head to toe, with colour just on your nails or a head accessory and now, of course, masks.” Jasmine says she has always been a minimalist, therefore even for formal dressing she advocates tonal dressing. “It’s so nice to be less busy on the body and yet look classy.”

Reversible masks

Sonu and Pari, who are focusing on dupattas and lowers this time, also have a mask with every suit. “We’ve put a lot of emphasis on dupattas, pallazos and Pakistani salwars — lacey duppattas and lowers or a lot of cut-work and embroidery on them with the kurta being simple. We also have two ply and three ply masks that are reversible.” If one side matches with the shirt fabric, the other will go with your lower. In some, there is a different print on the other side, so that you can match it with another garment.

Mix it up

In the game of mix and match, Gautam says, “One can pair up a nice shirt dress with sneakers or a crop top with high-waist trouser of ankle length.” Nelson suggests floral or jungle-inspired pants for a fun twist. “Pair them with a classic blouse for an elegant, yet quirky look. We can’t be out in nature these days, but we can surely incorporate it in our wardrobe to feel closer to it. Prints that combine multiple colours can instantly lift your mood.”

So, are you ready to have some fun with fashion?