Muses can vary, but vintage flowers are constant companions for Varun Bahl, whos tiered, translucent gowns and flouncy lehengas bristled in never making you incognito.
By Asmita Aggarwal
There has been an irrefutable link between art and fashion, whether it was Salvador Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli creating the lobster dress, Tarun Tahiliani teaming up with the Singh Twins, Gauri and Nanika getting Travis Blacks graphic roses or swimwear experts Shivan and Narresh paying homage to Communist, Mexican artist and revolutionary Diego Rivera or Barnett Newman and his abstract expressionism.
Following their footsteps is Varun Bahl as his love affair with flowers with an aged feel refuses to end as he referenced late 1800 Czech Art Nouveau artist Alphonse Maria Mucha. The Moravia-born artist was known to paint stunning women in flowing robes, which could be seen on the backs of Varuns salmon pink capes. Though it was his work La Pater, or the Lords Prayer that he produced in 1899, which is considered a masterpiece.
Victorian-style tiered gowns reminded you of the four seasons that Mucha painted with nymph-like women in floral headdresses, found a rather contemporary take in the crystallised pops of red flowers sparkling on net blouses and layered skirts. You could see similar scalloped ends in his duppattas that were originally produced by Muncha in his watercolours The Flowers series capturing the naturalism with a minimal style in the rose, iris, carnation and lily.
Though it was the menswear which remained the highlight, as a designer, he has tried to create new fabrics like his woven crepe for his 2014 ICW line or the subtleness of Damask, a fabric that he often uses due to his malleable reversible nature, this year he introduced duppattas for men which came with flowers scattered all over in onion pinks and Cambridge blues as well as fully embroidered waistcoats punctuated with sweet, little flowers blossoming and worn with heady Peshawaris.
