Love is all around, girl-and-girl, boy-and-boy, love transcending beyond traditional notions. That’s what you glimpsed as you viewed Gaurav Gupta’s ‘Universal Love’ collection for India Couture Week, presented by the Fashion Design Council of India (FDCI). The film is an attempt to bring perception to the dialogue surrounding sexualities, gender fluidity, boundaries and identities since, it is felt, there is always a reason to keep celebrating love in all its forms, ages, sizes, shapes and colours. The expanse of the cosmos, the millions of stars, the axis and the movement of all planets, sprinkling and spiralling in infinite loops of time, meteoric showers and racing comets formed the inspiration for the glorious garments with abstract galactic embroideries and silhouettes, exuding a sense of expanse and grandeur of the cosmos.
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Catching your eye was a gown in Neptune blue with embroidery strokes that looked like comets flying with the structure embodying an endless rhythmic quality; a concept lehenga sculpted in cosmic grey, embellished with sprinkles of shaded glass in blue and gunmetal; a hybrid Indian gown in asteroid pink with a large multi-layered skirt and rain-shower patterned embroidery; a cosmic violet gown with fan-like structures giving a sense of movement and rhythm for a futuristic princess. The fashion film was shot at Taj Faluknama Palace in Hyderabad, a fitting locale with its merger of a modern lifestyle with ancient heritage.
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To sum up, Gaurav Gupta Couture saw big ball gowns, slithering slim gowns, short party dresses, hybrid lehengas and concept sari gowns. The colours: space grey, Neptune blue, asteroid pink, cosmic violet, Saturn gold. The fabrics: silk crepe, organza, silk dupion, silk georgette, tulle.
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And Gaurav Gupta Man comprised tuxedos, bandhgalas, jackets, flared trousers. The colours: black, white, night teal, Neptune blue. The fabrics: velvet, Egyptian cotton, wool.
All very lovely!
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