Pocket full of roses

In a country obsessed with celebrities,actor Freida Pinto’s appearance at the very beginning of a fashion show can be dubbed as the highlight of the next 25 minutes. It requires a wizard like Varun Bahl to outshine her,and that’s exactly what his couture collection titled “Flight” did on Friday evening at the PCJ Delhi Couture Week. With the show being sponsored by Audi,Pinto fawned over the car on the ramp and posed for the “paparazzi” before taking a seat.

Once the noise died down and the lights dimmed,Bahl’s clothes began the walking and the talking. Last year,his rebellious bride in black with bustier blouses was a show-stealer and this year too,Bahl kept cliché out of the range with newer silhouettes and his favourite colour,black. He gave a school skirt twist to the classic kurta as he introduced illusionary pleats in the front,high side slits and paired it with printed khulla pyjamas. A peplum top in the front and a long cape at the back with printed pants was one of the more interesting ensembles. We noticed that Bahl had three favourites this year — ample appliqué work,rose prints and peplum cuts.

It’s Bahl’s experiments with silhouettes that make him one of the most exciting designers of our times. For this collection,he paired sleek dresses,which had the length of the anarkali,but not the flamboyance,with churidars,and also created a sari with a blouse that reached the ankle from one side and was short from the other. Shimmery at times,understated at others,Bahl’s creations struck a balance between silence and noise.

The colour palette was dreamy,like walking on clouds — from the constant black to dull pink,blue,fuschia,yellow,pistachio and a bit of red. He used fabrics such as bubble crepe,silk,organza,velvet,wool crepe and silk net. The detailed embroidered rose and bird motifs on the lehengas and the dupattas spelt out luxury and told the story of the Bahl bride. She is free like a bird and feminine like a rose.