It’s an exciting time for Delhi-based Ankur and Priyanka Modi. The fashion designer couple’s popular luxury prêt brand AM:PM forays into couture wear this festive season, with a line called Zivar. It took 14 years of relentless coaxing by their loyal customers to convince the Delhi-based husband-wife team to turn to couture.
Over the years, the brand has grown aggressively with a loyal customer base, which avidly subscribes to their aesthetic and design language. “[They’ve] continuously asked us to do an occasion wear/ couture line,” says Priyanka. “We too realised that it was the right time to add a new dimension to the product line, and found this to be a natural progression in our journey.”
Recently, the Modis got Jacqueline Fernandez on board to be the couture line’s ambassador, an association that Priyanka dubs dynamic. “Since its inception has created effortless, elegant styles, when we decided to put a face to the brand, it had to be someone who fit the brand ethos. Jacqueline is an epitome of elegance, beauty and poise. We are ecstatic to have her as our ambassador,” she says.
Retailing at Rs. 45,000 and above, the couture line has been inspired by an ancient Persian metal handicraft called bidriware . “It flourished in the 14th century under the rule of the Bahamani Sultans,” says Priyanka, adding that there’s an essence of a bygone era in their designs. “One of the main ingredients in our collection is the artwork, and we have beautiful Ashrafi-ki-bootis , exotic jaals , concentric patterns and linear graphics, all sitting together on one mood board for this one. We prefer a certain modernity reflecting in our clothes, and hence went with a palette of pastels and monochromes to balance the then and now.” The duo first came across bidri on a research trip, quickly realising that there was a whole world of showpieces, jewellery and furniture that was made using the amazing craft. “It also combines our two great loves — artwork and monochrome — in the most beautiful way,” she adds.
‘Zivar’ translates to silver or silver jewellery in Persian, and the Modis have incorporated a lot of vintage florals on pastels. “Our collection is made using pure silver sheets,” says Priyanka. “We’ve used silver mukaish, a heritage hand embroidery technique, extensively in our collection to beautifully reflect that. We’d like to think of the collection as bound by a thread of silver as it’s the only technique used in the collection.”
Despite its recent unveiling, Zivar has already caught the attention of the fashion press. Actress Nimrat Kaur has been spotted wearing a few creations in a recent issue of Harper’s Bazaar Bride . Needless to say, the designers loved the actor’s shoot. “Nimrat embodies many of the qualities that we as a brand subscribe to, like subtlety, maturity and an innate confidence,” says Priyanka. “She is one of the most understated celebrities in the industry today, and brought out so much in the clothes with her delicate mannerisms and nuances. We absolutely loved it.”
As a label, AM:PM’s love for black and white is well documented. And while the colour preference would always be their first love, Priyanka says it’s difficult to explain the reason behind the lure. “It’s probably because black and white lends a sense of clean simplicity which we cherish above all else in design,” she says. It’s perhaps why the brand’s fanbase transcends ages. This includes the current crop of Bollywood style influencers such as Kangana Ranaut, Alia Bhatt, Jacqueline Fernandez, Kareena Kapoor and Dia Mirza. It’s also a favourite with 90s style icons such as Madhuri Dixit and Kajol. After all, they prefer comfortable and classic designs, says Priyanka. “It’s an extremely smart decision because you can wear these over a much longer timeline instead of just using something for effect and not being able to wear it again.”
Just because they’ve launched Zivar doesn’t mean AM:PM is going to slow down. Up next is a flagship store in Hyderabad next month, which will be their largest at a whopping 3,500 square feet. But it’s also special, says Priyanka, because the folks from the South Indian city are “great connoisseurs of couture”. Surely, not more than Mumbai though.
The author is a freelance writer
Visit www.ampm.in for more details.
