As the sun gets lower, festive nights out only become more fashionably daring; the slight chill will not keep the low-dipped backless dresses or the alluring necklines away. The incandescent lights only enhance the creamy hues of white dresses and splash life into the ensembles of a wine red. This is what Aakriti & Sukriti’s Indo-Bohemian collection is all about.
Based out of New Delhi, the label is spearheaded by two creative directors and sisters Aakriti and Sukriti Grover. Aakriti is an alumnus of Instituto Marangoni in Milan, also spearheads the Indian beachwear and swimwear brand, Flirtatious. Sukriti started her journey at the prestigious National Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi and continued at Instituto Marangoni. She has been a part of Style Cell and worked closely with Anaita Adajania for six years. Sukriti has been styling Bollywood’s Gen Z such as Disha Patani and Kartik Aryan.
The two synergise well, they say, explaining, “Being sisters we come from a very similar design aesthetic and influences, thus for us to do team work is effortless. However, Aakriti definitely has a stronger hold on the social media and production responsibility of the brand. And designing is team-work.”
The new collection is largely dispelled in whites, creams and ivories with a small range of the garments being a rich red. The designers say concepts of the Indian summer and of the destination wedding inspired these choices.
“We deal with strictly organic cotton made of milk and soyabean. It’s a breathable fabric, however this time we concentrated on the weave of the fabric and developed a self texture with dainty jaal designs on it,” they describe, adding, “Since we started each collection comes with newest design elements but had to stick to the signature of the brand and its USP. We try using gota and organic cotton with newer silhouettes and design with every changing collection.”
Gota , the Rajasthani embroidery appliqué using minuscule pieces of zari ribbon, has caught the designer-duo’s eye. The style itself presented some technical challenges, particularly how to make gota on white fabric look different from their previous lines. “We overcame this by working on different motif techniques and changing our technique of treating gota work. We also paid attention to the self texture on the very base of the fabric.”
Aakriti & Sukriti have embraced the bell-sleeves with this new and flowy collection, for its multi-occasion versatility. “It is a contemporary twist to Indian wear. The trend has been spotted not just on tops and dresses but also on their sari blouses and kurta sleeves,” they state.
Indo-Bohemian also taps into micro-trends, the latest one they tapped into being scalloped edges — which one can also see in the world of interior design. It certainly requires careful execution and balance. “It’s a simple motif that adds an abundance of charm to any outfit. From 60s-inspired skirt hems to lampshades, the trick to working the trend is balance. The key to getting scallops spot on is to juxtapose them with more contemporary aesthetics. Consider the material and print carefully since you need something that ever so slightly jars with the traditional aspect of the scallop.”
The collection showed at Lakme Fashion Week but the sisters were particular in making sure it had a pristine and prét wearability to it. “We believe in relaxed fits and wearable silhouettes and fabric thus these styles are a true depiction of runway to reality. It’s not just a design idea but the point is to bring comfort to the runway which people can wear in their daily lives.”
Some garments from the Indo-Bohemian collection can be found at Ogaan India, on Road Number 10 in Banjara Hills.
