At fashion weeks, he draws inspiration from castles of Europe and monuments of West Asia. But with the start of the new wedding season, Suneet Varma has shifted gears. This time he is inspired by the ‘70s, the decade when Indians were inundated with multiple waves in films and music.
“I value the ‘70s because Indians then dressed up in interesting ways. This was the period when Beatles had come to India. Pandit Ravi Shankar was introducing fusion music – he played at the Woodstock. The sitar maestro was popularising India’s greatest talent internationally. Then there was Western influence on fashion. Women were wearing polyester pants with prints. It was a new phenomenon. People were drawing inspiration from Gucci printing, hippie styling. During that time we would see women wearing off shoulder blouses with saris with artwork. So a shift in culture has been captured,” reflects Suneet.
Being showcased at the ongoing Bridal Asia, Suneet’s Divine Couture collection has lehengas, shararas and saris inspired by Bollywood music of 1970s. “Romantic melodies which are joyful and have a sense of exuberance. An interesting mix of romance and joy, but not nostalgic,” insists Suneet.
Essentially a craftsman with strong research background, Suneet is known for drawing inspiration from the Ottoman empire, French castles where architecture is the influencing factor. In order to reach out to prospective wedding shoppers, he has given pictorial images a miss. “I am more riveted by beauty. Even a piece of music can mean a lot to me. It should be soul stirring and soul nourishing. Sense of beauty is what I see around. It is not necessary that it has to be an antique even though I dwell into the past to look for inspiration. So here I discovered beauty in music.”
So motifs, colours, styling, embroidery and art works are all inspired by the mood of the period. “Floral motifs, a mix of checks, lot of black, interesting cuts and details, flared anarkali, short kurtas with shararas have been made to give families buying for wedding a feel of those days,” says Suneet.
Elaborating on how Hindi films were influencing the public in terms of fashion and hairstyles, Suneet feels seventies were the liveliest. “Actresses like Sharmila Tagore and Saira Banu were trendsetters. Bollywood influence could be seen in terms of styling, colour and embroidery. Rajesh Khanna was seen as an epitome of style and had become a phenomenon. As India was celebrating romance, we had music which was playing a vital role in daily lives of citizens.”
Talking of 70s, who can forget Helen and her dance numbers. “I believe there was no subjugation of women then. The greatest cabaret songs of Helen were performed then. Today we look at them in a different way; call them item numbers. At that time we did not use such disparaging language. It was cabaret and it was classic. So it is the classic aspect which I have weaved into outfits — young, girly, witty, easy on the eyes and easy to wear.”
Speaking about his association with Bridal Asia, Suneet says, “Each season we have so many wedding shows. So here I am reaching out to every possible buyer, every strata of society.”
Through such platforms, he engages with not only buyers with deep pockets but anybody who appreciates style. “Here we are presenting lehenga in a modern avatar. We have streamlined it by using six to ten panels and matched them with heavy dupattas but narrow stove. There is lot of resham work and contrasting colours like aqua with black. Also, there are more shararas and kurtas this time.”
Going with the theme, Suneet invited playback singer Kanika Kapoor to hum his favourite songs of the 1970s as the background score at the preview of the show. “The melodies of 70s are mixed by Medieval Punditz. Some of my favourite songs like ‘Yaadon Ki Baraat’, soul stirring and young and trendy, were played to capture the mood of the times.”
