Pieta in the Pleats

Fashionistas seldom search for inspiration in the pleats of Pieta. Michelangelo’s mourning Mary and her voluminous drapes would seem terribly out of place on our runways obsessed with size zero. But Simi Biswas and Varun Kumar of the newly launched designer label Deseo have ensembles with such highfalutin names as Pieta Pleated Tunic (cut to size for modern times),Cowled Medici Dress and Raphael Tunic Dress (below) in their Renaissance-inspired autumn-winter line. These are,in other words,pleated tunics with metallic flowers,shift dresses enlivened with a hint of antique gold embroidery and Grecian drapes.

The designer couple’s label retails from Samsaara,Mai and Manan in Delhi,Chamomile and Cypress in Mumbai and Fuel in Mumbai and Bangalore. “Our strength lies in Indo-western outfits. They have a western silhouette and a strong ethnic influence,” says Kumar,who graduated from the National Institute of Fashion Technology,Delhi,in 2003. The ensembles are priced between Rs 3,500 and Rs 12,000.