Festive and bridal wear trends from India Couture Week 2020

Pratishtha Rana

September is usually a busy month for the fashion industry as several fashion events are held around this time in India and abroad. This year too the events took place, but on digital platforms.

In India, the fashion fraternity experienced its first-ever phygital India Couture Week 2020. Six days of online runway shows ended today in which 12 designers presented their concept  films live on FDCI’s website and social media platforms.

Here are all the highlights from the six-day long fashion extravaganza.

Day 1

Gaurav Gupta
Gaurav Gupta’s Couture’21 collection film ‘Name is Love’ was the first film to be shown at the India Couture Week. His signature sculpting technique was seen in womenswear and menswear. Gupta also presented handmade diamond jewellery from his sub-brand Gaurav Gupta Occasions Fine Jewellery.

Suneet Varma
Suneet Varma’s new collection was dreamy and glamorous. Sequins, mirror work, drapes, dainty net fabrics completed his edit of modern-Indian occasion wear.

Day 2

Amit Aggarwal
Amit Aggarwal shot his India Couture Week film underwater. His new collection explored his love for three dimensional, tactile silhouettes and gorgeous drapes that lend a sculpted form to the wearer’s body.

Rahul Mishra
Rahul Mishra presented his Festive-Couture edit called the Lotus Pond, which was pre-shot at Tijara Fort Palace in Rajasthan. The design, embroideries and motifs on lehengas, gowns and sarees explored the beauty of aquatic plants, fishes, planktons, dragonflies and butterflies.

Day 3

Dolly J
Reds, whites, pastels and intricate silver and gold threadwork took the centre stage in Dolly J’s Bridal collection titled Gulenaar. The film was shot at the Rajamahal Palace in Jaipur.

JJ Valaya
Three key outfits seen in JJ Valaya’s ICW collection, Bursa, were sarees, lehengas and sherwanis. The designs are inspired by the regality of the Ottoman Empire in Turkey.

Day 4

Shantanu & Nikhil
Titled ‘The Resurgence’, Shantanu & Nikhil revisited their signature classics such as metallic and sheeny textures, goth appliqué and fine zardosi work. Cocktail gowns, draped lehengas, bandhgala and kurtas featured in the fashion film shot at The Roseate, Delhi.

Reynu Taandon
Statement bridal wear palette of reds and pinks combined with heavy embellishments and jewellery completed Reynu Taandon’s ICW collection, SURKH, made up of tone-one-tone lehengas, shararas, ghararas, anarkalis and sarees.

Day 5

Kunal Rawal
Shot at the iconic Asiatic Library in South Mumbai, Kunal Rawal’s new menswear edit film, Hide and Seek, bursts with colours, minimal embroidery and technical prints.

Falguni Shane Peacock
Shraddha Kapoor was the show stopper for Falguni Shane Peacock’s digital show at ICW. Shot at St. Regis in Mumbai, the designer duo showcased high-drama occasion wear for men and women, in which playful ruffles, feathers and shimmers married risqué, plunging necklines and silhouettes.

Day 6

Anju Modi
Anju Modi’s concept film shown on the last day of India Couture Week celebrated the beauty and elegance of a bride. Her collection, Sindoori, brought back the opulence of fabrics like jamdani, brocade, mashru and pashmina, made even more beautiful with delicate work of zardosi, mukaish and foil prints.

Manish Malhotra
The last showcase of India Couture Week 2020, Manish Malhotra’s couture film showcased his new collection, Ruhaaniyat- A celebration called life, starring Janhvi Kapoor. Dramatic silhouettes, heavy embroideries coupled with gossamer veils for bridal wear took the spotlight.