Vineet Bahls ode to Malhar revives threadwork, his signature and displays his long standing love for ivories
By Asmita Aggarwal
Vineet Bahl is one of the few designers, who stick to what he knows best, so Indian prêt is his forte, not that he doesnt dabble in Western silhouettes, he does, but that he reserves for his Anthropologie and Net-a-Porter buyers. We live in a country where most women still wear our national dress, so I dont intend to show Western wear on an Indian prêt show, says Vineet.
Fashion for him is applied art and not art so he prefers to tailor his line towards wearability rather than unnecessary theatrics. This time, for WIFW SS 15, he has paid homage to Raag Malhar, known to invoke rain Gods with its melodious notes, sung to perfection by Tansen. So you will see the gradation in Vineets line from pre-rains depicted through ivories and pastels to torrential rains with vibrancy—a riot of hues you know that each piece is a poetic composition much like the heart-melting music.
Threadwork remains his style grammar with subtle embellishments and handloom fabrics making a swift entry. There is a bit of Benerasi brocade, net and tissue, along with khaddi, Chinese silk woven on dupion looms giving it that luminous lustre, he explains.
Moving away from his love for cut-away-from-the-body silhouettes, Vineet has offered a sea change to a fitted cut, with his kurtas, bottoms and jacket-esque blouses. As a designer I must address the needs of a market where women now prefer not exactly body sculpted but snug cuts. Plus, I never abandon my signature, which has been threadwork for a short lived love affair with a more impactful zardosi, he concludes.
