The Sari,Simplified

Mouldable metal and fluid drapery has always been designer Amit Aggarwals forte.

Mouldable metal and fluid drapery has always been designer Amit Aggarwals forte. A recent showing of his latest collection at Ensemble in Mumbais Lion Gate,reiterated the fact. What,however,was really striking was the posse of three mannequins,clad in pre-pleated cocktail saris paired with structured blouses. Out of these,the heart-shaped blouse,with its black hue beautifully offset by the grey of the lamé sari,stood out. It is one of my favourites, admits the designer.

A closer look at the collection revealed more,other than the fact that this is Aggarwals first sari collection. The saris the pre-pleated kinds along with other outfits,make use of fabrics such as jerseys,chiffons,georgettes,silk and lamé. The colour palette is an interesting one with black,brown and beige dominating the line along with jewel tones such as emerald green,royal blue and coral. Aggarwal,not surprisingly,is most excited about his saris. You can easily slip into one of these and move about comfortably. Also,while some of these are one-piece saris,the others have a separate blouse that can be teamed up with a pair of trousers and jacket, he explains.

Aggarwal has launched this self-named label after he recently quit Morphe,that he had launched in partnership with the company Creative Impex five years ago. The 31-year-old admits that he was initially apprehensive as he had never tried his hand at designing saris before this. But I had always wanted to make saris and with the festive season around the corner,the timing was perfect, says he. In this Autumn-Winter line,he has created 18 saris along with fitting tops they cinch around the waist when worn,dresses,monochromatic capes and anarkalis paired with churidars.

In keeping with his signature look,the use of embroidery is minimal,though the garments bear an ornate touch. I have experimented with saris this time,but it will be a while before I do a heavy bridal line. Right now,the focus is on my capsule collection and I plan to come up with one every three months, he reveals,adding that this line is available at Ensemble stores in Mumbai and Delhi.

As far as prices go,theres a variety on offer. The dresses,tops,capes and anarkalis fall in the lower price category of Rs 6,000 to 20,000,while the saris are priced between Rs 30,000 and 60,000. Aggarwal justifies the high prices with the amount of work that has gone into the garments. Each garment has been hand-sewn with great attention to detail, he emphasises. Going by the encouraging response for his saris,Aggarwal doesnt seem entirely wrong.