AMIDST all the cross-cultural influences and a tendency to be the first with the latest in the West, Indian designers have always relied upon the everlasting appeal of ethnic wear. Ghagra-cholis, salwar-kameezes and sarees continue to be the mainstay for most fashion houses in the subcontinent.

However, what makes them different from last year’s styles is the slender, figure-hugging silhouette with emphasis on pin tucks and panels, gold and silver embroidery and copper sequins on tissue and satin.

Clearly, the idea is to go overboard with opulence.

Another innovation gaining ground this season is the deconstructed saree. Designers like Suneet Verma and Tarun Tahiliani are cutting it into two and draping it over embroidered petticoats, which can be proudly flaunted with matching cholis or jackets.

The pre-stitched saree also makes an appearance on the fashion scene. Resembling a gown at times, it is easy to wear, looks sensual and appeals to women on both sides of the globe. The accompanying choli is no longer demure with sleeves. Young women are now going in for sexy, very revealing, bikini tops or else corsets, halters and brief bustiers — bolder the better.

But the biggest fashion development of late has been the impact of recent Bollywood hits like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham and Devdas. Ornate costumes worn in these musical dramas are showing on the racks of leading designer stores, often with fancy labels and price tags.

Sheetal, India’s first multinational hi-fashion store specialising in ethnic wear, even put up a Mohabbat show, based on three decades of Bollywood. In-house designers Hemant Trevedi and Manish Malhotra presented two dazzling segments that eminently captured the spirit of the season.

Trevedi came up with elaborately embellished angarkhas worn over skin-tight churidars — clearly, a tribute to Anarkali of Mughal-e-Azam. Sexy corsets clinched the body with swirling skirts and dupattas adding drama. For men, there were lavishly embroidered sherwanis and Raj coats in classic cuts.

Malhotra’s offering was inspired by Kajol’s costumes in another hit, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge with voluminous ghagras and sexy bra-tops, opulently embellished with antique borders, gota work, brocades, silks and zardozi. For that extra flounce, he added a thick buckram petticoat to be worn under the ghagra.

In the same league is the mother-daughter duo, Pallavi and Bhairavi Jaikishan, offering multiple options under different segments. For the Vintage Line, they have long and short kurtas teamed with pants or salwars as well as sarees and slim lehengas in sheer georgette and crepe.

Their Kaleidoscope Line is textured with pin tucks, pleats, piping and embroidery for long and short coats with pants. Then there is the Rose Collection, which has tiny embroidered flowers appearing in sarees, kurtas and lehnga-cholis.

For ceremonial occasions, there’s a special line in brocade with blends of embroidered borders, silk and georgette in vibrant colours. These make for kurtas, sarees and A-line lehngas — the last embellished with 3-D sequins, shaded beads and lace.

Both mother and daughter are lavish in their use of embroidery for all garments along with beaded crochet work, shaded roses, golden thread work and scalloped edges for sarees. Their colours are shades of strawberry, marigold, mint, beige, leaf green, fuchsia, geranium red and orchid pink.

Then there are designers like Krishna Mehta, Azeem Khan and Shobha Somani who are as ornate and opulent as the rest, but leave their own distinctive touches. For instance, Mehta’s lehngas are with exquisite silver and gold embroidery, while her cholis are short and sassy, and are teamed with matching dupattas.

In contrast, Somani has stuck to the conventional umbrella-cut lehngas with double-layerd cholis made from a mix of brocade silk and tissue, while Khan has come up with two-toned spray-painted sarees embellished with pearls and sequins. The sarees are teamed with cap-sleeved, strappy and sleeveless blouses.

There’s also the designer duo Amber and Shirin who continue to uphold the trendy, young image of ethnic wear with fitted lehngas and daring, plunging necklines for cholis. For men, they have a range of sherwanis in woven matte fabrics like brocade and jute silk with detailing in beaten gold and sequin work.

— MF