Suneet Varma's finale show for India Bridal Fashion Week was inspired by the Ottoman empire. From Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat to the Topkapi Palace, the veteran designer drew in cultural references from all aspects of the Persia complete with a palatial set that transported you back in time. Here's what you missed from the finale and more.
Showstopper: Janisaar star Pernia Qureshi and long time friend of Suneet Varma performed at the start of the show to 'Humein bhi pyaar kar lein'. She was also the showstopper. "We go back a long way. Neither of us are overtly emotional or affectionate but sometimes when there’s such a strong connect you don't need to say much."
The vision: "As the collection started to delevop I started to think of this dream—my vision is quite cinematic. For me it's about the girl in waiting and the presumed lover on the other side, birds carrying messages, princesses walking around."
Aviary inputs: Varma tried to recreate the lives of Persian princesses—the stage, the dramatic show music even the headgear of the birds had a story behind it. "The literature about the Ottoman Empire talks about falcons and pigeons and I used that as inspiration for the accessories and sclupted a falcon for one of the looks and the other two have sparrows chirping around them."
Colours: The palette went from blues to reds, fuschia, pinks, corals. "The gold line is very close to me heart—I like to work on diaphanous fabrics with Swarovski and three-dimensional flowers."
Theatrics: "The lighting of the show is very important to me. I think when you build a set like like this, you have to convince the viewer of your vision. For me it’s important the girl walks a certain pace, turns at the right spot, it should be like watching a movie."
Silhouettes: "I've done a lot of Farshi shararas—a silhouette that has a certain vintage charm to it that I don’t normall do very often. We've also done some some Farshi skirts."
Timelines: "I've worked on the collection for about six months. For me it was about making a small motif and repeating it in minute detail. I wanted to create something that resembled stars descending from heaven to wrap themselves around the princess."
Swarovski: "It was a natural progression for us. I've worked with them for about 15 years, I have been to their offices in Austria. I did a lot of development with them when I signed on with Judith Leiber. This season we decided to work on jewellery with them. Accessories are my first love—we did hathphool, bajuband, kummerband and mang tikas for this collection."
As told to Rujuta Vaidya
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