Orange is the new red?

The 2016 wedding season is all about the bold Indian bride who dictates her own wedding vows and walks away from conventional accoutrements. This season, there are more reasons for the modern bride to be audacious with her trousseau than ever before, and ace designers are matching the fierce dynamism of the women of today who dare to stand out.

While designer Manish Malhotra is encouraging the 2016 brides to show off bare shoulders in red hot hues, suave bridal ensemble creator, Tarun Tahiliani is inspired by an unusual muse, ‘the Courtesan’, for his latest Bridal collection.

Interestingly named ‘The Last Song of the Courtesan’, Tarun Tahiliani’s dainty collection raises both eyebrows and interest. “Historians, sociologists and writers have done little justice to the ‘nautch’ girl or Courtesan, often depicting her as a vamp or showgirl, sadly misrepresented in most of Bollywood as “fallen women”. In fact they were the custodians of beauty, fashion, poetry, dance and music,” he explains.

In Tahiliani’s dramatic bridal collection, the opulence of Indian textiles, powerful embroidery and rich craftsmanship are woven into every piece. “Our clothes need to embody our cultural legacy, which has to be updated for the global, peripatetic brides.” Hoping to charm with this novel idea, Tahiliani asserts that his Courtesan-inspired collection is refined and seductive but never overtly erotic. “The research on the same has resulted in this collection for the contemporary diva”, he adds.

The sartorial fascination of the current off-shoulder trend must not be missed in Manish Malhotra’s couture collection for the 2016 bride. His bridal apparel is modern, luxurious and yet easy to carry.

“Every outfit in the collection is lightweight. I have used a lot of thread work, Badla work and zari embroidery. While the vintage embroidery and colour palette create a very rich bridal look, the threadwork makes the outfit light and easy to carry.”

To maintain the regal mood for the bride, Manish drew inspiration from vintage Persia. “My collection is inspired by the fabled land of Persia. Every outfit has its own unique story, told in the language of distinct colours, detailed motifs and rich fabrics. Most ensembles have detailed hand-woven gold embroidery on sheer and velvet fabrics”, explains Malhotra.

For many years, most designers have preferred to prescribe an entire ensemble for brides-to-be. However, this year, contemporary designer Anita Dongre is giving her bride the option to curate her own ensemble.

“Our bridal couture this season offers a wide range of options from chintz-inspired prints on lehengas with pockets, to jewel-toned solids with beautiful gotapatti, long tabard jackets, anarkalis and sarees with fringes.”

Dongre is recognised for her bright shades of bridal wear, inspired by Rajasthan. Her recent presentation of the collection at India Couture week was named ‘Epic Love’, where Rajasthan’s signature gotapatti work added sparkle to block prints on glossy fabrics. Dongre wants her bride to have fun with celebratory colours.

“Club the Bohemian gypsy tops with printed lehengas or silk pants. Fringe-finished sarees with tie-up tops that wrap around the drape add a contemporary twist to the classic saree.”

So many options to choose from that it could leave a bride-to-be exhilarated yet bewildered at the same time! Which is why we asked these designers to simply summarise styles, cuts and colours for the 2016 bride.

According to Tarun Tahiliani, bridal trends are moving away from blingy and multi-coloured ensembles to a more subtle palette. Inspired by international fashion, Indian brides are looking more at comfort, lightness and structure. Few want heavily embellished outfits that restrict movement and inhibit the fun one would like to have at one’s wedding. “My favourite colours for this season are sunset ombre, yellows to blues, oranges to reds, reds to pinks and pastel shades in blush, pink, cream and beige. For comfortable fabrics, go for sushi voile, georgettes, cotton jacquards, cotton silks and crepes,” he adds. For a definitive elegant look Tahiliani suggests a trellised, Swarovski crystal-encrusted blouse combined with a panelled veil in soft tulle edged with Chantilly lace, “A sunset orange and red lehenga will also look resplendent”.

Manish Malhotra’s favorite colour for 2016 remains the forever-dominant red . “My favourite colour for a bride this season is red. I think voluminous lehngas with long trails and a lot of detailed embroidery on aged velvet will look great.”

While the 2016 bride may still choose the classic red for her big day, designers are offering colour palettes to satisfy the urge to look different and at the same time do justice to the prominence of the big day. Like Tahiliani, Dongre too suggests that orange may be the new red for the bride this season. “Red, cream and gold remain the classic colours for brides. However, my favourite this season is an orange lehenga-choli worn in the classic Indian way”, says Dongre. Shine bright!

Shilpa Dhamija is the editor of luxuryvolt.com