Czech artist Alphonse Mucha’s paintings ‘The Series’ and ‘The Flowers’ are celebrated for their colour palette and floral motifs in curvilinear patterns. Mucha’s work belongs to Art Nouveau period, blending Bohemian style with neo-classical themes. Imagine this reinterpreted in couture.
Dream Nouveau
Designer Varun Bahl presented his creations titled ‘Dream Nouveau’ at India Couture Week in New Delhi early this year. Now, Varun is taking it to well-heeled clientèle across the country that’s perpetually looking for something new for wedding trousseau and occasion wear.
In Hyderabad to promote his line at Elahe, Banjara Hills, Varun discloses that it’s the first time he turned to art for inspiration.
The fashion fraternity has courted vintage and floral themes many a time but Varun’s interpretation finds a meeting point with art and architecture. He was drawn to Alphonse Mucha’s paintings, pored over books, visited museums in Barcelona to observe the artist’s work and researched on translating it into cherished couture pieces. “It involved trial and error; the collection took six to seven months,” he says.
Art and architecture
Varun liked pretty much everything about Mucha’s paintings: “The motifs, colours, curves… the stems and flowers have a certain movement in his paintings and I could draw parallels to Gaudi’s (Spanish architect Antoni Gaudi) architectural forms. So, while others may have been inspired from vintage and floral themes, there’s a deep-rooted story behind my creations. I’m proud and happy with my work. This has been the most tedious collection so far,” he asserts.
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Even at a time when wedding wear in India mostly meant deep tones for winter-festive creations, Varun never shied away from ivory and pastels. In this collection, lehengas, anarkalis and jackets come alive in mint green, ivory, rose pink and peaches. “A lot has changed from the buyer’s perspective. Black and navy blue, which were taboo for weddings, are now accepted. Ivory whites are a favourite...,” he laughs.
Varun has been in the industry for 12 years and seen the market open up. “I come from a family of garment exporters and grew up seeing clothes made, though not in this manner. Now I’m showing in every big city and living my dream. India is not an easy market; the customer is spoilt for choice — as a designer, to develop your own way of thinking and make your mark is hugely satisfying,” he says with pride. Patterns, prints and heavy, but appealing, embellishments are his forte. As part of this collection, Varun designed silk-net gowns with gathers; a few had 30-40 metres of fabric. “But the garments were feather-light. You could call it our secret technique,” he laughs.
Liberal use of thread embroidery and pearl embellishments mark this collection. There’s also a hint of badla. Each garment took the workforce four to five weeks to make. Like his peers, Varun is considering copyrighting his collections. “It’s not easy to do rip-offs of my work but I’ve seen a few being sold at one third the price,” he says. He isn’t sure if copyrights will end imitations. “It could help cut it down but the law is complicated. With 10 to 12 minor changes, someone can pass it off as their collection.”
A few years ago, most of the business for designers came from the wedding segment. In couture, little has changed, feels Varun. “The anarkalis and lehengas will always do well. Custom-made clothing is something we in India have always wanted for our festivals and weddings. The market for luxury pret has opened up and several designers are doing a great job,” he observes.
Eyeing luxury prêt
Team Varun Bahl is eyeing this luxury pret segment and will be venturing into it in 2018. “Luxury prêt is being sold at ₹15,000 to ₹20,000 which is still high for an average Indian. There’s scope for something more affordable,” he says.
While the business is good for women’s wear, Varun feels the growth in menswear is slow. A few years earlier, he had partnered with Karan Johar to launch menswear line defined by high quality cotton and clean lines. He brightens up talking about it, “Everything about that spelt quality; it was ahead of its time.”
Varun feels very few men experiment. “You’d find a couple of pale pinks and yellows in a man’s wardrobe mostly filled with blue, grey, white and black. Most of them will wear black shoes and belts, maybe big brands now,” he laughs.
