Rediscovering the six yards

Designer Varun Bahl promises to bring the sari back in focus

July 16, 2014 08:32 pm | Updated 08:33 pm IST - New Delhi

MONUMENTAL STUFF! Varun Bahl’s show is scheduled for Thursday. evening Photo: S. Subramanium

MONUMENTAL STUFF! Varun Bahl’s show is scheduled for Thursday. evening Photo: S. Subramanium

Just a day before the “India Couture Week” gets rolling in the Capital, couturier Varun Bahl was giving finishing touches to his collection titled “India, Moderne” which will be unveiled on Thursday. The collection is for the new Indian woman who is keen to celebrate her traditions but does not want to be defined by them.

Looking a trifle jaded, Varun took time off from his busy session with models for a quick chat.

It has been an unusually tiring day as you have been conducting the fittings session for the six-day-long “India Couture Week”...

Before the fashion event starts and during the couture week, it is always brain taxing. But it is relieving towards the end. Everything has been done, all the last minutes suggestions have been incorporated.

Can you shed light on the collection you will be unveiling with much fanfare on Thursday?

Well it is a modern Indian collection. I have created newer ways of wearing the traditional wear. So there will be lot of anarkalis, kurtas and saris created in different ways. It will be interesting for fashion lovers to see saris presented in a new kind of avatar. This collection represents ten years worth of experiences and experiments.

Saris worn by actors like Jaya Bhaduri and Hema Malini in Hindi movies during 1960s and 1970s can still become a trendsetter if they are redesigned in a contemporary way. Would you be presenting saris from films of those period?

I would be presenting sari in a modern way. But I have used our age old traditional techniques in creating them.

Have you drawn inspiration from medieval monuments like Humayun’s Tomb or famous French chateaus and English castles for your collection?

I have travelled all over the world and derive inspiration from too many things. I have been inspired by a lot of interesting palaces in Europe. I also travel across the country and have over the years visited various forts and monuments built by the Mughal rulers. However, I find the European architecture more appealing than the Indian monuments.

How do you perceive the Fashion Design Council of India organised event in Delhi in terms of generating business?

Of course, the “India Couture Week” is going to be a big event. It has so many interesting components. We designers are participating regularly in fashion weeks because our collection is a good commercial proposition for buyers. Good work eventually sells.

But I would like to clear misperception of certain people that couture stands for Indian wedding.

With the FDCI’s decision to change name of “Delhi Couture Week” to “India Couture Week” give the event a pan-Indian identity and put a stop to bickering between designers of Delhi and Mumbai?

Of course, it has given the event a national identity. The FDCI move will make the designer fraternity stay united. It will stop the divide between Mumbai and Delhi designers.

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