Designer Gaurang Shah’s shows are almost always marked by meditative calm, brimming with a celebratory spirit. A certain joyousness, just like a morning riyaz. There is a simplicity and purity of emotions. In the romance of incense. And, in case of Gulal, his showcase at Lakme Fashion Week x FDCI, in Mumbai, platters heaped with colourful gulal, a Holi staple to smear your loved ones with, as eternal a ritual as the timelessness of traditional textiles, flowers in the hair and a small bindi. Translucent sheets of pink fabric gently swayed mid-air, an imagery that brought to mind a Holi sky sprayed colourful. It was almost as if Gaurang was conducting a puja, lending the whole ambience a subtle divine charm.
His muses walked in saris and lehngas in shades of pink, each combining multiple crafts, offering a window into Gaurang’s creative thoughts and the magic that resides in the fingers of our craftsmen.
“People know me for weaves. I have introduced lots of embroideries now. These are lost, forgotten stitches which no one does now and they take a long time, especially one stitch, which is called mochi embroidery, from Gujarat... I have revived that and trained women to do that. We also had a fusion of a khadi Jamdani and a Benaras Jamdani. The lehngas had modern designs and colour but traditional techniques and traditional designs too. We have used Kanjeevaram, jacquard, ikat and patola too...,” he told us, post-show.
The combinations seemed to fit in like a jigsaw puzzle every single time. “The textures have to match and the designs have to match. I start with a story which will continue for at least two to three shows because one show cannot justify it. I have done sindoor, now gulal, then haldi and kesar... It all just comes together,” smiled Gaurang. Just like hand-charkha khadi, fine cotton, silk matka, and other natural silks came together with Parsi gara, petit point, kasuti, phulkari and more. Or, a traditional Gujarati song of Radha and Krishna playing Holi and teasing each other with Kathakali dancers from Kerala.
Gaurang’s timeless creations were matched by his muses with supermodels like Nayanika Chatterjee and Carol Gracias walking for him. “Gaurang calls me and I never say no because I like the clothes he makes and he is very nice as a human being and he doesn’t care about age and size. If he thinks you can show his garments the best, that is what he wants,” said Nayanika.
Gaurang described them as “classic”. “That’s the beauty of it... I have been working with them from Day One of my career. So, they know the in and out of my clothing and they know how I want them to walk and now I call them twirling queens because in every show of mine, Lubna (Adam; choreographer) makes them twirl,” he smiled.
As Rangi sari gulabi played at the end, we too felt like breaking into a happy twirl and partaking in Gaurang’s joie de vivre.