Tarun Tahilani brings alive Couture Crystal Craft & Carat

Laden with the weight of history yet effervescent as it sits lightly on one’s skin, it takes you back to the age of excess where the hallmark of genuine Indian trousseau is the painstaking made-by-hand details, the ornate embroidery and the intricate threadwork that form this couture collection.

Ivory silk threads sing in romantic paneled kurtas lifted with opals, pearls and other Swarovski crystals even as saris gleam with antique gold and silver peek-a-boo. Generous smatterings of zardozi, brocade and kalidarkurtas aside; the saris are opulent, from jamewar inspirations to gota, chikankari and bandhini indulgences.

The Gold Collection

Limpid pools of liquid gold gleaming in its decadent viscosity… “The Gold Collection” has as many facets as the woman who wears it. Italian lamé falls as if it’s been poured over your skin and the illusory jersey hugs every curve with the proficiency of a bias cut.

Elegant in a dulled white gold or sylph like in sparkling black, the convenience of wearing it like contemporary clothing comes with the effortless drapery of a Grecian goddess. The silhouette of the sari is maintained throughout, the pallu being created by a wire overhead as Greek and Indian sensibilities fuse, a moment worthy of Max Müller’s epiphany.

Intricate details of hand embroidered Swarovski and 3D flower artwork peep at you from the intimacy of a bustier even as the chain-mail dupatta adds power and structure. Swathed in luxury and bathed in gold, it doesn’t scream splendour – refined understatement, rather.

The Enchanted Forest

Like the whimsy of a forest fairy, the colour palette is a pastoral romance of pinks, ivory, restrained beiges and bridal red. The gilded lily of the collection is the bodice that would put an exhibitionist peacock to shame. The royal shades of the national bird come together in this corset that represents the entire collection - Indian in origin and yet global in sensibility.

Risqué necklines that would be at home with cocktail dresses accompany saris with shadow reverse embroidery. A glamorously wicked reinvention of the classic sari, it comes with obi belts, a cape and bustier - full of glamour, humour and worldliness.

The concept sari is a smattering of Spain in the Indian vanguard of glamour. Like the frills of the train of a flamenco dancer it waves in and out of view like a lucid dream. Carrying the flag for understated bling, there is enough sparkle to light up the room and it doesn’t leave one blindsided.

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Tarun Tahiliani