Dev R Nil’s Festive/Resort 2022 is a happy mix of the subtle and the colourful and the easy-breezy and the drama. A feel of romance and pristine energy runs through the collection. Beautiful embroidery and hand-painting add to the charm of what is easily one of their best collections in recent times. Nil, one half of Dev R Nil, runs The Telegraph through the making.
Dev and Nil of Dev R Nil
You say that this is a special collection...
This is our full collection after two years. You had 18 months of uncertainty and this is the time you realised that the world has to slow down and take notice of the finer things and appreciate it. So based on that the whole hand-painted line, a first for the label, started coming around. We were thinking in what ways to use our existing talent and there were also a few artists looking for jobs. We got them on board and this whole hand-painted line came about. This is a capsule line (within the whole range). We were always known for our western wear and as a business decision, when you see that people are only buying occasion wear, we had to find a balance between these two. Once we started doing the hand-painted line, it merged with our festive line.
Through special previews, we realised that people were also able to appreciate what’s on offer. People talk a lot about sustainability. I always tell them your business practices will have to be sustainable and more importantly, your model has to be sustainable too. Are you able to sustain your business while selling things which you are creating? Striking this balance is a challenge. This collection is special that way. We have woven our way through these difficult times to come up with the line finally. The response has been brilliant.
There is a lot of love in it too. It seems a lot of thought has gone into it...
At the end of the day, that (love) is the secret ingredient....
The collection looks like a mixed bag. What did you keep in mind?
People like to pack light and usually at a resort wedding, you are in a holiday mood. Seaside resort wedding is what everybody is going for these days... Thailand, Goa, Bali.... Immediately your clothing requirements are very different. You cannot have super-heavy embroidery. The bride and the groom can deck up, but not the rest of the family. We have consciously not done wedding ghagras. We feel sorry when we see the brides in 15kg-20kg ghagras. At the end of the day, if the clothes are not restricted, you’ll have fun. I should be able to have fun at my own wedding. The repeat factor is also important for me. I always tell people to reuse.
There is an overseas wedding happening and they got to us what they had bought for the elder daughter’s wedding 10 years ago and asked us to repurpose it. So, while we are making new ones for them, we have reconstituted the older ones as part of the main wedding outfits.
The tissue and organza saris look amazing...
In the last few years, these saris have been our source of sustenance. Though they look heavy, they are extremely light. For festive occasion wear, you need the metallic sheen be it silver, pale gold, rose gold. These are all handwoven from Benaras.
The sheer shirt on Mekhola Bose looks bold and dramatic...
This is an organza shirt with applique around the bust area and the jacket is hand-painted. This was our first hand-painted piece for the collection. The look is very statement with (a) confident-in-your-skin (vibe). There is power play happening around the collars.
We have been talking about how women in India have limited options for business wear and we have over the years, done looks which address this. This might not be your boardroom look, but you can opt for one in a solid shade. These are deep desires but because of the volatile market, we have done a festive look within the collection.
What can people pack if they are going for a resort wedding? Give us some picks from the collection.
Pack everything! (Laughs) Our knotted cape dress. Then a tissue sari, very young and fun. Try some easy shirt dresses. Jewel tones.
What about menswear? Are you doing shoes?
You will find lots of proper looks for the groom for sure here. Yes, we are doing shoes! (Smiles) You can never go wrong with tone-on-tone.
Juhi Ghosh (left) looks elegant in a hand-painted corset teamed with a navy tie-dye draped skirt and a cutdana throw. Mekhola Bose’s embroidered dhoti jumpsuit with a throw, is effortlessly cool.
While Juhi’s skirt, hand-painted bustier and organza throw combination is a great choice for a friend’s sangeet, Mekhola’s sky-blue hand-painted shirt dress makes for a great brunch look.
Juhi sports a multicoloured hand-painted short jacket with neon yellow pants. Mekhola looks pool-party ready in a pair of yellow dhoti pants teamed with a hand-painted bustier and an organza throw.
Juhi looks lovely in a dahlia flower tissue sari made prettier with a blue-grey dahlia hand-painted corset. Mekhola’s blue-grey dahlia hand-painted jacket with grey 3D flower sheer organza shirt and powder blue pants is pure drama.
Softer shades + florals on men look great for a morning wedding function. (Left) Sreyansh Jaiswal is in a grey multicoloured thread-embroidered sherwani. Wafi Habibi has paired his grey threadwork bandhgala with mint pants.
Pictures: B. Halder
Models: Juhi Ghosh, Mekhola Bose, Wafi Habibi, Sreyansh Jaiswal
Hair and make-up: Abhijit Chanda
Styling: Aavya Nath