Subtle drama, elegance and feminine romance. Rimi Nayak’s cocktail and party edit is an apt melange of all three. The designer gives The Telegraph an exclusive sneak peek ahead of its launch today.
This collection is a departure from your recent works or what you have come to be known for. You were saying putting this together took you down memory lane. Can you tell us about the inspiration to revisit it?
Over the years I have come to be mostly known for my signature prints and easy-breezy resortwear, but during the initial years of my career I used to work with a lot of structured and draped westernwear which I used to showcase at Lakme Fashion Week.
I used to love working with these styles but it was a bit ahead of its time as the market was not ready for such clothes at that point of time. Since the demand was less, we had stopped production but we still used to make them on orders for our select clients.
In the recent past, I was making such an outfit for a client and a friend of mine from the industry happened to see that piece and convinced me to revisit it. Thus I got motivated to create an entire range of cocktail and partywear with our signature drapes.
It’s mostly red-carpet dressing, but the pink gown has a beach wedding vibe…
The entire collection has been designed keeping parties in mind, especially the cocktail parties at weddings. As we already do resortwear for events at destination weddings, we thought of creating a couple of beach wedding outfits too for our clients for them to have options for their special celebrations.
We are in love with the metallic sari… tell us more about it…
We created the texture of the blouse with metallic straps stitched together and teamed it with a pre-stitched sari. Since a lot of young girls today find it difficult to drape a sari, we thought of pre-draping it and making it in such a way that it’s extremely easy to wear. We specifically thought of adding the sari to the collection keeping the wedding cocktail nights in mind.
It has a lot of pattern-making and detailing, which lends the pieces a lot of feminine charm. Which one is your favourite?
My favourite is the green corset gown. It actually entailed a lot of detailed pattern-making to get the perfect fit of the corset and also to create the voluminous skirt. The skirt has numerous layers of net and glass nylon fabric stitched together to get the perfect look of a ballroom gown. The entire collection has a lot of draped detailing, which adds fluidity to the outfits and gives a feminine touch.
The metallic gown is a lovely melange of power dressing and romance. What’s the key to strike a balance?
Draping has been the key essence of the entire collection and here we have used draping to create both the flowy feminine look in the outfit along with creating a 3D effect to give the power dressing feel to the metallic gown. It’s the drape that has helped in striking a balance between the two.
Finally, what are your all-time classic picks for statement dressing this party season?
I feel, like everyone else, a black dress is an all-time classic for me as well, but I like to make it a statement by either adding an exaggerated shoulder or sleeve detailing in the outfit.
- Black or white, Rimi’s cocktail and party edit packs in drama and detailing.
- The pink gown has fairy tale written all over it. The floral touch makes it even more romantic. Just right for a beautiful beach wedding.
- Rimi says she’s had the most creative satisfaction making this sea green corset gown. “It actually entailed a lot of detailed pattern-making to get the perfect fit of the corset and also to create the voluminous skirt. The skirt has numerous layers of net and glass nylon fabric stitched together to get the perfect look of a ballroom gown,” she says.
- The metallic gown is a great combination of power dressing with romance.
- Our favourite is this pre-stitched metallic sari paired with a sexy blouse that will surely make for a scorching look. “Since a lot of young girls today find it difficult to drape a sari, we thought of pre-draping it and making it in such a way that it’s extremely easy to wear. We specifically thought of adding the sari to the collection, keeping the wedding cocktail nights in mind,” says Rimi.
"I used to love working with these styles but it was a bit ahead of its time as the market was not ready for such clothes at that point of time. Since the demand was less, we had stopped production but we still used to make them on orders for our select clients.
In the recent past, I was making such an outfit for a client and a friend of mine from the industry happened to see that piece and convinced me to revisit it. Thus I got motivated to create an entire range of cocktail and partywear with our signature drapes." — Rimi Nayak
Pictures: Pabitra Das
Location: Sly Fox Gastro Club
Model: Mohor Datta
Make-up: Sourav Naskar
Jewellery: Ouro Jewels
Designer’s assistant: Barnana Mandal