8 must-have looks from India couture week

What would the Indian fashion industry be without wedding-wear? “We wouldn’t have been what we are today,” says Sunil Sethi, president of the non-profit Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI) that works to further the business of fashion. “India has a monopoly (when it comes to wedding-wear). That’s our couture. That’s where the money is.”

The 19 designers participating in the ongoing all-digital Indian couture week 2021 understand this well. They have created glamorous yet elegant garments, ideal for a wedding, an engagement, a roka ceremony, a reception or a now rare red-carpet event.

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The event, presented by the FDCI in association with Hindustan Times, concludes on 29 August. We picked some of the best looks from the week to show what makes Indian designers the go-to people for wedding-wear.

With ‘Nooraniyat’, Manish Malhotra has made a bold move to use a lot of a single colour, blush red, to show the different moods of the Indian bride. (Courtesy Manish Malhotra )

In ‘Nazm-e-Mahal’, Leena Singh of Ashima-Leena brings the focus back on brocade saris to tell the story of a ‘maharani’ from the Mughal era.  (Courtesy Ashima-Leena)

Inspired by the expanse of the cosmos, Gaurav Gupta’s ‘Universal Love’ includes men’s jackets with lines running across, forming constellations.  (Courtesy Gaurav Gupta)

Dolly J.’s ‘Ah-lam’ is a modern take on traditional Indian wedding-wear. (Courtesy Dolly J)

Suneet Varma’s ‘Noor’ has easy, pastel-coloured ‘sherwanis’ with thread embroidery and modern hemlines to suit the needs of millennials. (Courtesy Suneet Varma)

Pankaj & Nidhi’s ‘Afterglow’ has techniques like origami folds, handcrafted appliqué and latticework with an iridescent sheen—all brought to life in colours such as chromatic gold, pearl pink, dove grey and ruby red. (Courtesy Pankaj & Nidhi)

Amit Aggarwal’s ‘Metanoia’ uses materials like glass fibre, raffia palm and optic fibre to spin architectural structures into fluid ensembles.  (Courtesy Amit Aggarwal)

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