Since launching his label in 2001, Varun Bahl has been a name synonymous of luxury couture Indian wear and a familiar name in the UAE’s fashionable crowd.
A regular at Indian fashion weeks since 2005, I had the good fortune to view his collection at the Amazon India Couture Week in July-August this year. One of the best collections of the event, the Dubai fashionistas will have the opportunity to see it at the Sopritti exhibition on Saturday at Murooj Rotana Hotel.
Called the Song Of The Flower, the collection was inspired by Khalil Gibran’s poem of the same name. Dominated by roses of all hues and in print and thread embroidery, the collection includes lehngas, anarkalis and sarees in chiffon, georgette, organza in a rainbow of pastels, oranges and reds to deep black — the perfect bridal wear for those who are tired of the traditional gold and reds.
And guys, you want be disappointed. For every baby pink lehnga or red and black sari there is a sherwani for the groom.
Yet, ask Bahl who is it more challenging to design for, and he’ll tell you it’s the men.
“Designing for either is equally challenging and equally enjoyable,” Bahl says. “Women are more experimental, men aren’t. So designing for men makes a little more challenging. But men today are changing a lot. They are more health and fashion conscious now. They want to look good. They want to wear different colours — in fact, the colours in a man’s wardrobe today you couldn’t think of 10 years ago.”
In a quick chat with tabloid!, Bahl, who counts various Bollywood celebrities as his fans, prefers to keep them in the front row at his show than actually design for a film.
“Bollywood and fashion has always gone together. Firstly because I’m not Mumbai-based it gets a little difficult. I mean I haven’t done a wholly-solely dedicated film. But a lot of actors and actresses wear my clothes in their movies. It’s not that I consciously stay away from it but it’s just that I’m Delhi-based. Moreover, if you are doing a film you need to totally forget everything else. I haven’t done anything as such on this front but I’m open to it now. When someone from the industry wears your clothes you get a lot of mileage, so I’d rather have them sitting in the front row.”
With the Song of the Flower collection, Bahl also launched luxury wedding décor company in New Delhi. A venture in partnership with his brother Vivek. “We had received a taste of this in the exquisitely decorated tent, set up at a friend’s bungalow. The white ramp contrasted with the huge bouquets of red roses hanging from the roof beside glittering chandeliers.
“I’ve always wanted to do this and I’m happy because it’s got quite a good response. But this time for me in Dubai at Sopritti the focus is the couture collection.”
