Kunal Rawal’s Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Tour, powered by Fashion Design Council of India’s showcase themed on ‘Pride in Celebrating Diversity by Defying Labels’, will be held at Gurugram on December 17. The designer told The Telegraph what to expect, on the sidelines of the curtain raiser in Delhi.
What are you showcasing?
Well, it is going to be a dramatic collection. It’s a big collection. We are doing at least 70 to 80, 90 looks in our signature style. We love having a wider range because there’s so much we have to say. And especially for this season, the conversation is so important and meaningful that it’s imperative that our collection showcases the conversation. So you will see a lot of signature Kunal Rawal looks. You’ll see a lot more fun. You see bits and pieces and hints of that rebellion that we are talking about. We are celebrating diversity by defying labels. There’s so much meat to the conversation, and you will see a lot of that meat turn into wearable, beautiful looks.
What are the classic silhouettes for a winter wedding?
Today we are all reinventing classics. There’s a lot more inspiration coming from classics, but with modern and evolved uptakes, like, for example, the kurta has diversified so much into long lines, into kurta shirts, into so many different iterations that you have. If you talk about jackets, we have about 70 different ways of doing a sherwani. There is no black and white. Today everything is grey when it comes to fashion and seamless moving from one space to the other. Today, it’s not about occasion wear. I strongly believe the pieces we are putting out for this show are pieces that cater to a very diverse range of occasions, ranging from modern luxury to deep-rooted traditional occasion wear. So the idea is to have pieces that cannot be labelled, but there are pieces that can move freely in this entire gamut, ranging from modern tradition to modern luxury to deep-rooted tradition.
What’s the Kunal Rawal touch to classic pieces?
The Kunal Rawal touch is, I’m a big sucker for smart and functional details. So something that is a twist that I love to put on stuff. I love visual manipulation. When something looks a certain way, but it moves in a different way, I think it makes it so intriguing and unique. It adds so much mystery to a piece. Whether a piece looks like it’s a thick twill jacket, but you come closer and you see it move and you’re like, hey, is that a silk, because it moves differently. So I love that. I love smart details. I’m the biggest sucker for smart detail.
I love technology. So that’s something we play with. We try to forecast. We did it with glow-in-the-dark this season with hidden messages. We did it with solar pieces some time back that change colour when you go into the sun, and is a different colour in the shade. So, yeah, we love playing with that. And for me, I think the love for fashion started with textiles. My family has been into garments and textiles for the last 50 years, so I’d like to believe that that gives me a bit of an edge when it comes to playing and creating textiles.
I love technology. So that’s something we play with. We try to forecast. We did it with glow-in-the-dark this season with hidden messages. We did it with solar pieces some time back that change colour when you go into the sun, and is a different colour in the shade. So, yeah, we love playing with that. And for me, I think the love for fashion started with textiles. My family has been into garments and textiles for the last 50 years, so I’d like to believe that that gives me a bit of an edge when it comes to playing and creating textiles.
What would you pick for a winter party this season?
I’m big on jackets, so maybe something that I wore recently. A new style we’ve worked on is a pussy-bow neck. So a kurta shirt with a pussy-bow neck and a waistcoat. I think that’s a winning look for the party season. So the pussy bow goes in like a cravat. I think it’s a fun, formal look, and I think fun formal is the look and the way for the party season.
Harrdy Sandhu
Harrdy Sandhu will be collaborating with Kunal on the showcase. Quick five with the 83 actor...
You enjoy your fashion. What was your most experimental fashion phase?
I think it has to be around the time of 83 and Bijlee bijlee because I was juggling two polar opposite fashion styles on screen as well as in real life!
What do you enjoy wearing most?
Anything and everything that’s comfortable alongside being authentic to myself.
Are you a shopaholic? Which is your favourite city for shopping?
I don’t consider myself a shopaholic; I like to pick up elements of my style from my surroundings and whatever stands out to me.
You have worked with Ranveer Singh who is known for his style. What do you like best about his take on fashion?
I believe he’s one of a kind; no one can come close to him when it comes to expressing himself and I love that about him!
Ranveer Singh
How do you feel about your collaboration with BPGFT?
It is amazing to collaborate with Blenders Pride Glassware Fashion Tour as it celebrates diversity and inclusivity in modern Indian fashion along with Kunal Rawal and I am extremely excited to be a part of it because it is in sync with my style of being authentic.
