Kareena Kapoor in a gharara after her wedding

Summer is officially over and it’s time to get into the festive mood with Eid and Diwali round the corner. It’s also the time to party in style and there is nothing quite like the vintage designs that add the old world charm to your festive attire.

Recently, when Kareena exchanged the vows in the royal joda, her gharara spurred a trend of sorts. Now not only the party hoppers, but brides too want a piece of Muslim wedding-inspired designs for their trousseau. Therefore, the couturiers in the city are busy doing shararas, ghararas, anarkalis, farshi pyjamas, kurta using Mughal-inspired motifs, embroideries, embellishments and techniques to cater to the demand.
Designer Ritu Kumar, who has conceptualised the look for all the four Muslim weddings in Deepa Mehta’s upcoming film Midnight’s Children says, “Straight pyjamas, shararas with long tops are particularly popular this festive season. And the gharara has become an interesting add to the wedding trousseau particularly for the sangeet. We have done layered garments with pyjamas, kurtas with gilets and odhnis along with options of skirts with the ensembles.”
The gharara, which originated in the city of Lucknow during the time of nawabs, is often elaborately embroidered or bears the weight of zari and zardosi. But designers have contemporised the silhouettes and handiwork to woo modern buyers who want unfussy and uncomplicated garments.
“The challenge is to add interesting twists in silhouettes so that they retain the original flavour,” says designer Varija Bajaj.
Designer Jyotee Khaitan informs, “Most of my clients are either opting for a gharara, sharara or flared trousers. I have also given a contemporary twist by adding modern motifs, embroidery and reducing the flair of the gharara so that it is manageable and easy to move in.”

Shararas, ghararas are back in vogue

Nikasha Tawadey has been doing shararas and ghararas since 2008 and says that people who want to look different and stand out in a crowd stick to the vintage styles. This season she has done a lot of sari blouses with shararas and odhni; ghararas with long backless kurtis and kaftans with slim salwars.
Another designer Seema Suhasaria adds that a long jacket over ghaghras, wide-legged trousers with loose-fitted long kurtas, Pakistani salwars with short kurta are also registering a huge demand.
“I use a lot of Islamic motifs in my work. The intricate resham work, zardosi and motifs from the Mughal era set the designs apart. Kareena’s wedding gharara not only started a trend, it has also brought to notice the need for the revival of bridal couture to keep the age-old tradition alive,” says designer Charu Parashar, who has just come back after showcasing her bridal wear line in Lahore.
Sulakshana Monga of the label Soltee says that the Muslim joda-style fashion is an evergreen concept.
“People are fashion-conscious these days and mixing different styles of our diverse culture is very common. My clients are ordering Pakistani wing-cut style kurtas and sharara-style pants. Kalidar lehengas and pyjamas are also a hit. We have also blended Islamic motifs with Indian silhouette, colours and embroidery to highlight the harmony between cultures,” concludes Monga.