Awadhi Halo

India Bridal Fashion Week (AVIBFW) 2012 had just begun and while Meera was deep in conversation with choreographer Aparna Bahl, her filmmaker-turned-designer husband,Muzaffar Ali,was visibly content as he doodled away on a piece of paper.

“Nobody can separate me from my pen and paper. Having said that,do I make every outfit that I draw? I’d say no because that call is taken by Meera; she edits the collection and I don’t really argue with her,” he said matter-of-factly.

The collaboration clearly continues to work. If the response to their Jamazeb (‘beautiful garb’) collection was anything to go by, it is only getting stronger. The couple — who launched their label Kotwara in 1990 to support craftsmen from the Uttar Pradesh village of the same name — showed a stunning collection of lehengas,shararas and anarkalis for women and also a few bandhgalas and churidars for men. It had a fair share of black outfits,a rarity in bridal collections.

“We opened the show with a segment of black net kurtas,corsets and saris with velvet cutwork jackets. After all,they are popular options for cocktail parties preceding the wedding ceremony. Our collection caters not only to the bride,but also to her family and friends,” Meera explained.

Having said that,a bright colour palette was the highlight of the rest of their show. Red,purple,pink and orange lehenga-cholis,anarkalis paired with churidars,and skirts dominated the second segment,while similar silhouettes in yellow,purple,green and blue were prominent in the next.

The last segment again had a burst of colours,including blue,orange,pink and dark green. In keeping with the label’s philosophy,the Awadh-inspired line also explored chikankari and its fusion with zardozi,ari,appliqué and kamdani.

The jewellery also reflected the Awadhi tradition. “While the pearls and diamonds added drama to the black outfits,we decided to have maang tikas and chapkas,anklets and even nose rings for the other segments,” Meera elaborated.

The music too played a key role in creating the right ambience and as a promoter of Sufi music (he has been directing Jahan-E-Khusrau,the world Sufi music festival since 2001),Muzaffar Ali drew up the song list for the show.