Designer Lehenga

The great Indian wedding saga is going through a major sartorial twist – the pursuit of the exclusive, customized, bridal lehenga. Gone are the days of recce at Chandni Chowk or at designer stores. New-Age brides aren’t leaving any pleat unturned — from any corner of the world — for that showstopper outfit.

Breathless in pursuit

For #Instabrides, the perfect wedding lehenga is a project in itself. Los Angeles-based bride Jasleen Kaur, 25, made five trips to Delhi to finalize her bridal lehenga. It took nine months and it cost her 1 crore! “Between several designs and Whatsapp messages, my lehenga was created to perfection,” says Kaur.

The pressure to stand out has reached mammoth proportions in the age of social media. In a bid to outdo each another, Indian brides are discovering refreshing original ideas. Fashion designer Kresha Bajaj designed her own lehenga, with detailing of her entire love story. It took her months to embroider the piece, which depicts important milestones in her relationship. Says Bajaj, “I didn’t want to get bored looking at my lehenga, that would mean getting bored looking at my love story. We are the social media brides. We document every moment of our lives and I wanted my lehenga to be unique.”

Bangalore-based bride Tanvi Mahajan scanned Instagram brides and several designers for the perfect lehenga. “I took printouts, and went to 19 top bridal designers and outlets in the country. It took four months before I shortlisted my outfit, which took another seven months to make (including four trial fittings).”

Lure of lehenga

The bridal lehenga remains highly lucrative for most Indian designers, who are cashing in on the growing $20 million Indian wedding industry.

Says designer Suneet Varma, “The search for the perfect wedding lehenga has gotten super competitive in the last few years. Today’s brides know their mind. They come with files and printouts of what their dream outfit should look like. They come well-prepared and well-researched.”

It’s not just about designs. From how-to-wear lehenga classes that teach you how to walk, dance and jump around in a lehenga, to lessons in how-to-change-into-two lehengas for different looks, in two hours – the bridal lehenga story has taken a different turn.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/fashion/the-great-indian-wedding-lehenga/articleshow/58852476.cms