Go to any wedding this winter and you’re likely to be assailed by an army of clones. They are all around you, floating by in clouds of pastels and twinkling sequins. They’re very pretty but they’re also instantly forgettable, having opted for the mundane, market-friendly designs that are being churned out by every designer on the block. No discerning savant wants to be forgettable.

The key to standing out at a wedding is to think beyond conventionally beautiful, blingy designs. Slight, unique twists can add a dash of chutzpah to the shimmer: a tweaked silhouette, a spurt of colour or an unconventional mix of different textures. All it requires is a little bit of experimentation and a knack for spotting trends.

Gazing down the recent spate of fashion weeks, here’s what caught our eye on the catwalk…

How not to be a clone this winter wedding season

ETHNIC, ALWAYS

Ethnic embroideries have a timeless beauty to them. Splayed out over a canvas made of luxe fabrics, they transform clothes into veritable heirlooms. It would probably be incorrect to say that indigenous craft is in vogue. After all, paying homage to one’s roots never really does go out of fashion, does it?

What is in vogue, though, is the myriad ways in which these embroideries can be moulded. In Misha Lakhani’s show at the PFDC L’Oreal Paris Bridal Week (PLBW) this year, dupattas and saris came bordered with minute ‘tukrris’. Nida Azwer’s collection blazed down the runway, resplendent with hand embroideries and intricate gota and mirror-work. Nickie n’ Nina worked with a rainbow of colours, working gota on silken chunri and floral screen-prints.

At Fashion Pakistan Week’s (FPW) winter festive edition, the Pink Tree Company’s fabulous Gulabi Gang was an ode to the traditions that are intrinsic to Pakistan: lehriya dupattas, chatta-patti and gota, glinting in chevron, worked into jaals and twinkling florals. Deepak Perwani’s solo show also featured gota criss-crossed down shirts and fashioned into flowers.

Ethnic wear truly did dominate this fashion week season. There were slinky saris, voluminous dupattas, ghararas and shararas that are such an intrinsic part of subcontinental wedding-wear. Proudly ethnic, utterly traditional, ever fashionable.

GO BLACK … OR WHITE!

There’s nothing more glamorous than a monochromatic all-black outfit … unless it’s an all-white one! And it’s about time that brides ditch their fixations with tangerines and greens to go for other options, on the mehndi at least. At PLBW, for instance, Nomi Ansari put forward gorgeous black lehnga-cholis splattered with concentric borders of his quintessential multi-coloured regalia. Misha Lakhani adeptly channelled nonchalant elegance into all-black drop-shoulder tunics, with gold embroideries, worn over sleek capri pants. The opening outfit for the House of Kamiar Rokni’s show was a spectacular fitted black peplum shirt paired with pants, with a galaxy of sequins and heavy-duty florals twining diagonally across them. It was probably the most memorable outfit from this year’s editions of wedding-centric fashion weeks.

Making a strong case, also, were the whites: in Nomi Ansari’s show, worked with fine gold embroideries with a single multi-coloured chatta-patti bordering the dupatta; in Wardha Saleem’s FPW collection, with a top worked with basket-weaves and foil gold screen-printing and under Faraz Manan’s magic wand, fashioned into elegant long gowns, mixed with shiny silk lamé.

AND THEN THERE’S METALLIC GOLD

Metallic gold is absolutely the colour du jour, replacing the ubiquitous pale pinks of the past. Good riddance, we say, for fluid, metallic gold looks so much more appealing. Nida Azwer’s collection was particularly etched in various shades of gold, moulded into saris, long coats, full skirts and gowns. Faraz Manan, similarly, has a penchant for the hue which plays so well into his sophisticated ethos for the modern-day woman.

LAMÉ LUSTRE

Lamé, woven in metallic gold or silver, is absolutely here to stay. The fabric’s been a catwalk favourite for a while, mixed and matched with fully embellished separates or as inner lining to diaphanous chiffons for added lustre. Faraz Manan’s show, particularly, was a lamé extravaganza with the fabric fashioned predominantly into skirts with embroidered borders.

EXAGGERATE THOSE SLEEVES

Elongated draped sleeves may not make great practical sense but you don’t always have to think practically when devising a standout wedding wardrobe! Shehla Chatoor’s enchanting ‘Nur-i-Alaleh’ show featured elaborately embroidered draped sleeves. The trend has carried on to fashion weeks, making appearances in collections by HSY, Faraz Manan and Nomi Ansari. The sleeves often come bordered with tassels or droop down in ruffles. A very feminine look if you manage to carry it off!

CAPE IT!

Winter’s always a great time to invest into embellished capes and, luckily, there are so many options available, running the gamut from the high street to couture. Retail heavyweights like Sana Safinaz and Nishat Linen stock up on a range of embroidered velvet jackets that, with the right accessories, make for statement wedding-wear. In the realm of high-end couture, Shehla Chatoor’s latest Chinarbagh pairs immaculately-embroidered, single-tone capes with shirts in the same shade, adding a dash of print via silk shalwars! Capes are also a favourite with HSY — the designer knows precisely how to style them over saris, tunics and skirts. The great thing about capes is that they don’t really go out of fashion — come next winter and you can flaunt your cape once again at another round of weddings!

Published in Dawn, EOS, October 28th, 2018

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