It is a marriage of jewellery and couture, literally. Ashaa Sebastian Mattathil of M.O.D Signature Jewellery and Reshma Mather and Famitha Latheef of Fariyadh have come together to give brides the perfect look on their wedding day.
Gone are the days when mothers of brides-to-be swept into jewellery shops and shopped to their heart’s content. This shopping trip would follow or precede trips to sari shops and voila! the bridal look would be ready. The ‘beautician’ would step in and the bride would be ready. If one goes by what Reshma and Famitha say, it’s not so anymore.
The bride walks in with her ideas and it is only at the fittings that the mother and other family members come in. The concept of a wedding trousseau is catching up, says Famitha. “Brides-to-be have a clear notion of what they are going to wear. A lot of thought goes into what has to be worn for each function,” she says. And experimentation is the order of the day. And we are not talking about the outfit but the entire look which is finalised after series of discussions. The discussion involves not just Famitha and Reshma but also Ashaa, the jewellery designer.
Offsetting heavy jewellery
The designers work as a cohesive unit because the final look of the bride is of utmost importance. If Ashaa has designed a heavy neckpiece then the designers would keep the blouse simple. On the other hand if the earrings are heavy and there's no neckpiece, then the blouse would be heavy. “Generally we see the jewellery before we design the outfit, so that both pair well. The jewellery and the garment should not jar,” Famitha says. Seeing the jewellery doesn’t, however, mean lifting motifs from the jewellery on to the garment, “that is very out. We try to incorporate the look but not too obviously.”
Ashaa, who has been designing jewellery for almost two-and-a-half decades, insists on not only seeing the outfit but also the bride. “I have to see the person who is going to wear the jewellery, whether she’ll carry it off or not.” When it comes to the ensembles the brides may be experimental, but when it comes to the jewellery their hearts are traditional, “with a slight contemporary twist.” For instance, she says, she’ll tweak the traditional nagapadam or kaashmala to give them a slightly modern look.
