Payal Singhal

Payal singhal – “The earth without art is just eh.”

Every season, occasion wear designer Payal Singhal dips into her repository of childhood memories and personal experiences to hone in on a starting point for her collection. It is a known fact that Payal grew up around fashion owing to her parents’ garment export business. But few are aware that art was an integral part of her world too, considering her grandfather was the National Awardwinning renowned artist JP Singhal. Under his creative influence, Payal’s love affair with the canvas started early on, an innate skill she lost touch with over the years as fashion took over. The pandemic allowed her to return to painting, bringing her immense calm as she put paint to paper. That very feeling spills over to her Winter-Festive 2022 collection ‘Painterly’. As its name suggests, this resort wear and destination wedding-ready collection finds inspiration in art — from multi-hued brush strokes and abstract art to miniature Mughal paintings — and translates it into the designer’s signature PS Prints. Payal has also explored the psyche of the young Indian bride of today to create wedding wear to resonate with her, and her coterie of bridesmaids. As a result, the silhouettes span the gamut from anti-fit and oversized to unapologetically sexy. The energy of the collection exudes feminine edge and a deep embrace of one’s sex appeal. While the brand’s signature silhouettes like kalidar shararas and the tie-back cholis remain a constant, you can expect more experimental and deconstructed Indian wear too — pants with tie-up half lehengas, ruffled blouses, hip cut-outs and festive pant suits. The embroideries and prints mimic brush strokes, with a palette that uses largely neutral bases punctuated with pops of colour. Zardozi, mukaish and woollen thread work mingle with bandhani textures in this line. The ultimate result is the kind of ensembles you’ll wear as a set come wedding season, and then play around with as separates come Burning Man… in the true spirit of an India Modern approach for the global gypset that Payal has come to be synonymous with. “I have approached each outfit like a painting — a sketch that evolves into a silhouette, then layered with fabrics, textures, embellishments and colours; just like multiple strokes come together to create an artwork. I did not abide by any rules of perceived rights or wrongs. Just a whole-heartedly artistic endeavour to enable our PS Girls to express their true selves through these clothes.”