July 29, 2018 Asmita Aggarwal

Tres Green, Tres Chic

An Indian princess in a French court could conjure up some heady whiffs, but Shyamal and Bhumika keep it textural with whispers of resham intertwined with aari work.

By Asmita Aggarwal

See the thing about lust is that it appeals to all your senses, quite literally, and Kiara Advani, the new darling of the Karan Johar camp may have been the poster girl for female desire in Lust Stories on Netflix, but for Shyamal and Bhumika she was an extension of their romantic motifs and fairytale concepts that have constants in their line, since 1999. And listen, green is really the new red in couture!

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The Ahmedabad-based duo set the ramp with imposing Roman pillars and bold, lively embroideries that mirrored their recent trip to France. Inspired by Louis XVI, and his Versailles palace replete with decadence of an imaginable kind with 2,300 rooms reminding you of the same arrogance of power in Russian oligarchs.

“The interesting part is that Louis XVI had imposed a certain kind of lifestyle on people, they had to adopt luxury and there was finesse in everything from food, clothes to jewellery and presentation,” says Shyamal. After all, he was the longest surviving monarch who ruled France for over 75 years and was known for his obsession with perfection.

The set design was a faint reflection of Vatican, Rome, another destination that the two had visited this summer, though the colours and themes mirror the baroque images, larger-than-life arches, pleasing florals, intricate mouldings and carvings as well as detailed gilding of Versailles.

The catwalk was awash with structured sleeves resembling the delicate vintage fragility, as well as the voluminous ball gowns and the tulle saris with a sprinkle of ruffling or just the exaggerated hems, as well as jacket style blouses. The duo tried to imagine an Indian princess in that scenario and how she would dress in the French king’s court— chic corsets and draped waists, hence the title ‘Muse of Mirrors’.

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“The bride today has access to social media, is well-travelled and can live anywhere in the world, most of our clients are based in US, Canada (over two lakh followers on social media) and Australia; our aesthetic is modern and not typically traditional,” he says. Design, he adds is a way to communicate, and sustainability has been their ideology since Bhumika worked with the historic 16thcentury Ashavali weave (precursor and influencer of the Banarasi brocade) almost 20 years ago as a graduation project hoping to revive crafts. “The Patels used to weave it and it was the highest form of ornamentation; we do try and keep a textile element in all our offerings,” he admits.

The husband-wife team used matka silks, tulle and organza as well as raw silk, to lend luxury, but also to make sure that the line is bio-degradable at least some part of it. The idea Shyamal says is to not leave a carbon footprint, a pledge they made when they met and fell in love, he was 20, Bhumika was 19.

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“You know, when we started no one knew in Gujarat what a designer was, they really didn’t care. But weddings were big, so they came to us to dress the bride and groom, making trousseau our mainstay for eons,” he confesses.  That’s what also makes them the top choice for an American or S. Asian bride, though people in the North, Shyamal believes like it… well, rich, not gaudy and a fine line divides the two. “Resham is what we prefer over zari as it gives it that fine edge with just a drizzle of sequins,” he adds.

Even though famed fashion houses in the West like Christian Lacroix are struggling to survive, Shyamal, who does all the talking, as his wife Bhumika stays in the background, adds, “In India we will never have that problem as the great Indian wedding will always big, flashy and ostentatious.”

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