Who’s showing:
ROSE ROOM COUTURE
Showcasing at the Wedding Diaries: This season we are showcasing our latest collection Nasrin at the Wedding Diaries. For nuptials, an anniversary, cocktails, through to a Mehndi ceremony with loved ones, you’ll find outfits designed with precision and panache for each. A belted gown will see you through a hands-free night of celebration. There’s dollops of practicality and a whole lot of love instilled into each piece designed for Nasrin.
The Kolkata bride: Kolkata brides are not just beautiful but also bold. They are forward-thinking and ahead of the times in many ways, yet they take culture very seriously. Classic wedding picks: We definitely have a more timeless approach to wedding picks. We believe your trousseau should consist of a red sari, a Lucknowi sharara, some beautiful floral dresses along with beaded, intricate pantsuits.
B.C. JAIN JEWELLERS By Vikash
Showcasing at the Wedding Diaries: This year at Wedding Diaries we are mainly focusing on bridal jewellery, which includes solitaire diamond necklace, emerald chokers, pastel-coloured necklace, heavy choker made with uncut diamonds, multilayer maharani haar and Victorian and vintage-style necklaces. You will be seeing combinations of refreshed classics and bold new favourites that are popular this year, with traditional jewellery.
The Kolkata bride: A Kolkata bride is the personification of beauty. Every bride wants to look perfect on their special day. They need comfort as much as style. Her choices are unconventional. And so a Kolkata bride puts a lot of effort in choosing their jewellery that is traditional and also a form of art.
Classic wedding picks: Wedding is the most special day for a bride and she should feel and look no less than a queen! Every wedding season there is a new trend, but the classics are evergreen, like a beautiful solitaire diamond necklace with an emerald choker or a maharani jadau haar along with a traditional mathapatti, haathful and kada.
VARUN BAHL
Showcasing at the Wedding Diaries: I’m showcasing ‘New Leaf’, my latest couture collection that I presented at FDCI India Couture Week 2022.
The Kolkata bride: A Kolkata bride is quintessentially traditional, yet embraces the contemporary and versatile style. Bridal couture has changed drastically over the past few years and I feel that now, brides are embracing more colours and silhouettes for their wedding day.
Classic wedding picks: A classic wedding pick would be a lehnga or a sari. For me, couture was never limited to just traditional red bridalwear. A wedding outfit should add solid design value to a wearer’s wardrobe and enhance her personal style .
ROHIT GANDHI + RAHUL KHANNA
Showcasing at the Wedding Diaries: We are showcasing our latest couture collection Fibonacci.
The Kolkata bride: Their ease (is special). We have seen that mostly all Kolkata bride’s want to have fun on their big day, be comfortable in what they wear, have a fabulous sense of style and most importantly, they know what they want.
Classic wedding picks: A draped sari, a gorgeous gown for reception or cocktail.
RAWAT JEWELS
Showcasing at the Wedding Diaries: We bring with us what we’re best at, indulgent diamond polkis with a splash of coloured gemstones. Our new collection is specially designed for the modern-age bride, keeping in mind the cultural heritage which revolves around a wedding.
The Kolkata bride: Contradicting the conventional brides, a Kolkata bride has a clear imagination of what look she wants for every event of her wedding celebrations.
Classic wedding picks: A statement emerald kada, polki panchlada necklace, and a classic chunky chaandbali. For men, however, less is more. Jewelled buttons with a classic bandhgala have an ageless charm. And nothing says groom more than a statement sarpech, juxtaposed with complementing coloured gemstone strands.
ROSE JEWELLERY
Showcasing at the Wedding Diaries: We are showcasing our 2022 fine jewellery and bridal jewellery lines at the Wedding Diaries.
The Kolkata bride: A Kolkata bride is unique because while she may be modern, she is still strongly rooted in tradition. Everything about a Kolkata wedding is epitomised in Indian grandeur and so too are the sartorial choices of the Kolkata bride, be it in jewellery or clothes.
Classic wedding picks: For weddings, the classic pick is always a diamond set with one precious gemstone, be it emerald, ruby or sapphire. This gives the bride the flexibility of dressing the set up or down even after her wedding.
Rose Room, Varun Bahl and Rohit (Gandhi) and Rahul (Khanna) are distinct in terms of their looks, clothes and presentation that they are bringing to Calcutta. They all have their own space and design aesthetic. Varun’s got beautiful florals, rich fabrics, velvets, silks.... Rose Room has got a lot of light and pretty pastels, easy-breezy (options) for lunches and destination weddings. Rohit and Rahul’s you would probably do it at cocktails. There’ll be a walkthrough in the evening with these three designers and the idea is to have fun with it. In the last couple of years, with Covid, the wedding was small. Now, people are back to doing bigger weddings. These clothes represent that as well. They stand out. The young brides are much more experimental and adventurous. They know what they want and Bollywood still plays a big role. They set the mood board and inspire the bride. I want to give a shout-out to my friend Sapna Kumar also who will be showcasing her jewellery at Wedding Diaries. Beautiful pieces. And, I am super proud of her — Indrani Dasgupta Paul, who is curating the fashion experience
Fashion Ramp is designed to capture the idea of wedding as a liminal space into a tangible reality. The concept for this year’s Fashion Ramp is to celebrate the surreal newness and novelty that liminal passage rites like weddings bring in our life. The design is conceived with a one-of-a-kind mirrored floor interspaced with pristine white doorways, that symbolises the passage of crossing over into a life of hope, love and new beginnings. The glowing doorways of light and flowers, reflected in the mirror, is a call for walking into your dream wedding! — Sonia Guha, experiential designer.
Wedding Diaries, with The Telegraph, will be held at Swabhumi on August 20 and 21, 11am to 9pm.