A year ago, one remembers visiting the Alliance Francaise in Chennai to see an exhibition conceived and organised by VIA (Volarisation de l'Innovation dans l'Ameublement, or Association for the Promotion of New Ideas in Furnishing), an initiative of the French Ministry of Industry, that sought to establish the ways in which fashion houses like Jean-Charles Castelbajac, Chanel and Christian Dior, to name a few, affected the shape and silhouette of furniture pieces.
There were sketches pointing out similarities, if occasionally far-fetched, between specific garments and the corresponding pieces of furniture said to have been influenced by each of them. One sketch, for example, showed how a chest of drawer by Charlotte Perriand bore striking resemblance to Christian Dior's multi-panelled Diorama dress of the ‘New Look'. The flow of influence between the allied design fields of fashion and interiors (specifically, furniture in the above case), is, alas, well-known.
At the showing of Ritu Kumar's ‘The Falaknuma Collection' at Taj Palace Hotel recently, it was a case of fashion drawing from architecture, though more as a general thematic reference if not for specific motifs.
On doing a collection inspired by the Falaknuma Palace, which is now Taj Falaknuma Palace, the designer explains, “Actually, it's something that we've done before together. When I did my book “Costumes and Textiles of Royal India” (published by Christie's, London, in 1999), which is also a work on revival and making a conscious decision to revive the old crafts, colours and costumes of, The Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces had collaborated with me to do the release of the book. They were opening the Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad and I was in my second lap of doing a revival vintage collection. We were just talking and they said ‘Let's do it together' and that's how it happened.”
Double-shaded effect
The couture line, which comprised a mix of bridal and red-carpet wear and a diffusion line, had silhouettes that ranged from shararas to saris and lehengas. A zardozi rani pink sari came with ochre net stitched on the pallu, lending an otherwise traditional garment a unique double-shaded effect. In one sequence, tribal motifs, specifically from the Rabari and Banjara tribes of Rajasthan formed the base, conch shells, mirror-work, et al . The colour story ranged from cream-and-gold to the heavier brocaded maroons and reds paired with gold.
Sharmila Tagore and Soha Ali Khan, in matching turquoise-and-coral ensembles, played showstoppers.
Interspersed with the sequences was an audio-visual by choreographer Vidyun Singh, which threw light on motifs like the tree of life and paisley, which form a significant part of Ritu Kumar's ensembles, zardozi “the survivor”, and Rajasthani tribal handwork, besides giving one a walk-through of the Falaknuma Palace.
As Ritu Kumar said, “I'm so happy one has the opportunity of doing this, because this is not a collection that you'd do for a fashion week; it's something that is almost historic. It has to do with a cultural curiosity in textiles and in all stages of arts and crafts in this country. And I think it is very important to resurrect along with the modern world what we are also losing by way of aesthetic, but no longer, because I think the crafts in this country are coming back to the fore.”
According to Kumar, the one element whose importance she has come to realise in traditional embellishment has been metal. “Metal has always been there, whether it was weaving in Banaras or weaving in gota, like what Soha is wearing, but they were all comparatively dull and rich-looking. One of the crafts I've been working on since the last six to eight years is how to get back to this old aesthetic without it looking crass and overdone, but still very glamorous, still part of the old tradition.”
From the Capital, ‘The Falaknuma Collection' will move on to Mumbai, where it will be showcased towards the month end.
