Treading the Edge

For a guy dressed in a shirt with another shirt stitched on it,trousers with cowls and a fashionably uneven haircut,dabbling in something as traditionally restrictive as bridal wear might seem rather out of character.

For a guy dressed in a shirt with another shirt stitched on it,trousers with cowls and a fashionably uneven haircut,dabbling in something as traditionally restrictive as bridal wear might seem rather out of character. After all,to a designer who does things like pairing leather with chiffon and putting drapes on mens trousers,designing a lehenga-choli for the Indian bride just wouldnt be challenging enough. But Gaurav Gupta,whos brought his very first bridal collection to Mumbai,lives up to expectations and adds his inimitable outré twist to traditional Indian wear as well.

We catch up with the 29-year-old at Ensemble in Bandra where hes already busy advising clients. Im so exhausted, he says,when we finally manage to pin him down for a chat,I was up all of last night at a friends birthday party. And he looks it,but only until the next bride-to-be comes calling. Then,hes up and about; enthusiastically discussing cuts and colours,and helping the indecisive ones make up their minds. The client always comes first, he says apologetically,when he returns.

Gupta is a straight talkerwhen asked why hes ventured into designing bridal wear,he doesnt spout the expected clichés about wanting to expand his boundaries and trying something different. Im designing bridal wear because it makes a great deal of commercial sense; One cant deny that in India,theres a huge market for festive and bridal collections, he says casually.

But its easy to see that even when he has the market on his mind,Gupta manages to make the safest of clothes,just so much more unusual. A painstakingly pleated grey sari-gown and a ruffled lehenga,layered with generous quantities of tulle,arent exactly what one would call run of the mill. Did he deliberately want to update the Indian brides look? I dont go out of my way to make my designs more edgy and contemporary. Its just something that comes naturally to me, he says,but I dont see why Indian women shouldnt have more options. The great thing is that women are no longer afraid of experimenting. I just attended to a client who was a little wary of wearing one outfit,although she loved it. She debated with me the possibility of modifying it a bit,but I know that when the day comes,shell choose to wear it as is. And I know that shell look fabulous, he says.

Gupta doesnt let his wide,global experience overwhelm his mojo when hes in

designing mode. Hes worked with international designers Stella McCartney and Hussein Chalayan and has trained at Londons fashion Mecca,Central Saint Martin. More recently,he was invited to show at the Exposition as part of the Paris Fashion Week. But the designers not one to blindly pay obeisance to global fashion. Whether its in the flamenco-inspired lehenga or his predilection for draped jersey dresses,the influence is subtle,as it is with Indian traditions of embellishments. Which is why,it isnt unusual to see leather find its way into one of his lavishly embroidered saris. But then again,as he likes to emphasise,he doesnt do it deliberately. Im not out to make a sensation about using unusual or different materials. I envision something a certain way,it looks good and I go ahead and create it.

FASHION FORWARD
* Sari-gown
* Choli top
* Kurta-gown
* Pin-tuck kurta pyjama
* Sherwani with baroque motifs

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