Payal Pratap plays with fit and flare as she takes you through a sweet smelling garden of roses this SS 16
By Asmita Aggarwal
It has been a fruitful four years for Payal Pratap and her label and this time, it is not travel that has motivated her to herald spring, rather a calm, mature state-of-mind from which has emerged Vintage Rose, her SS 16 line. It is retro in its appeal, with the focus on the rose, which I believe is a classic motif, which has been reinterpreted season after season for eons by the biggest design houses, says Payal.
Personally, Payal loves the rose, which has been transformed on to feminine retro 50s silhouettes showing the evolution of a woman, who is strong and self-dependent.
It is this dichotomy (between bold and romantic) that comes through the floral splendour, with robust prints and lots of embroidery (both hand and machine). The innovative use of surface texturing, textiles and splashes of colour, give this story a new twist with tonal additions. The embroidery is subtle, almost opaque, so when placed on sheer fabrics it looks floaty. The challenge was to balance the hues, as there was such a wide spectrum used, she smiles.
The prints have been painstakingly created giving them a new lease of life with a distinct identity, with sometimes 20-30 mixed, so every flower or its petal has many shades in it, perfectly synchronised. Silhouettes are easy, but not straight with a play of fit and flare, with natty gathers without treading on Japanese or square lines. Rather they are girlie, just as I wanted them to be, she admits.
With Chanderi remaining her top favourite, and a constant companion, the one thing in the collection that she would like to own is the detailed sari in the fabric of her choice, in a largely Indo-Western offering. There is a certain unexplained charm, the sari has, which is unmistakable, she concludes.
Read more from Day 2 at #AIFWSS16 on the Amazon.in Blog