Fashion: The sari gets a contemporary twist

Designer Suneet Verma paid a dazzling tribute to legendary Puerto Rican fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez with his collection,'Tales From the Thousand and One Nights' on Day 5 of the recently concluded Delhi Couture Week.

The opening scene in his show last night saw a boat sailing, derived from the inspirational work of Lopez, who has had a major influence on Verma. The collection was mostly traditional Indian wear with a twist. Take a look...

First up is this radiant blue sari unusually draped to have a more contemporary appeal.  

As a young illustrator when I taught at NIFT, I drew a lot of inspiration from him, which has piles of couture. His book sees a pirate travelling the world. So my collection has a little bit of Arab influence with a western touch," Verma told PTI.

In his latest collection, Verma had materials like georgette, net, crushed cotton, stretched satin, zardozi and Swarovski elements with silk and velvet drapes with colours like baize, pink, maroon and shades of blue, in the clothes.

Model Diandra Soares strikes a pose in this sheer layered creation that seems a cross between a gown adn new-age sharara.

The top end of the designers do couture in India. I have no desire to compete with international brands like Zara
and Mango because I cannot do that. But they can't capture the Indian couture market, I would rather celebrate that," said Verma.

The collection was totally Suneet and the drapes were so nicely done. The idea of using a turban, which was conceived by him for the first time ever complemented the attire. It was amazing," said designer Manav Gangwani after the show.

The collection was heavy on the detailing not just with sequin and zardosi work but also the innovative use of textured borders.

While most of the creations had over-the-top headgear and unusual pairings, the bridal designs were more traditional yet contemporary in pretty shades of pastel, silver and gold.