Natasha Dalal found herself firmly in the spotlight after her nuptials with long-time beau, Bollywood A-lister, Varun Dhawan. But, what caught our attention was how tasteful her wedding couture looked. And not only did Natasha design her own wedding ensemble, but she also planned the accessories to the T.
In an exclusive chat with Indulge, she reveals the details as she also talks about her new wedding
collection that she has worked on — Into The Light. Excerpts:
Natasha, tell us about your journey as a designer — who and what inspired you to take it up and for how long have you been designing?
Designing and I go a long way back. It is something I have always been passionate about. I think I’ve been designing since I was in school. It started with me doodling on the backs of textbooks and looking for ways to do creative things. After college, I interned at a few fashion magazines and that’s when it became clear to me that I want to design. Soon after graduating from Fashion Institute of Technology, New York in I came back and started my own label in 2013.
Coming to your latest collection, what are the mood board and the theme like?
Living through this whirlwind of a year has brought about so many revelations — most of all to appreciate nature and what it has to offer. My recent collection titled, Into The Light, celebrates nature and how beautiful each element of it looks in sunlight. The collection is based on ombré hues, mixing various shades of colour, merging and contrasting just as one sees them in nature.
What are the techniques, fabric, motifs and colours you chose to work on for Into The Light? Also can brides-to-be customise?
One can expect pastel to jewel tones to express the way colours look in the light. The motifs include floral elements, fauna and abstract. Each outfit has a theme. For instance, one is called Starlight and it has the effect of a starry night sky. Bridal customisation is always a special process as I want to work with brides get the ensemble they dream about. We are open to making changes in colour, blouse styles and mixing and matching embroideries and patterns. It’s always fun for me to see how a custom outfit turns out! Nothing is more satisfying than seeing a bride-to-be happy when she first tries her outfit.
Given Zoom weddings being the norm, what did you keep in mind while designing?
I just wanted to create an intricately crafted outfit that speaks volumes about the bride’s personality! This is what we aspire to do.
You recently made for a stunning bride! Your ensemble was gorgeous and not at all over the top. What informed your bridal design sensibilities?
Because of my Parsi heritage, I’ve grown up seeing brides wearing gold, ivory, pinks. So I always knew those were the colours I wanted to wear at my own wedding as well. For me, it was all about the tiny details, each outfit had a theme that was implemented with subtle details in the colours, fabrics or embroidery.
For the mehendi, I wanted to wear a necklace that my mother wore at her wedding. It was a gold jadau necklace which we repurposed with light pink Tourmaline stones dangling in layers and matched it with uncut diamond jumkas and a mangtikka with accents. I wanted the mehendi look to be traditional and so I designed a raw silk lehenga with multi-colour floral motifs.
Tell us a bit about the stunning sea and beaches-inspired outfit you donned for your
sangeet?
I wanted to wear a lehenga to signify something that both Varun and I love and has played an important part in our relationship journey. We love spending time by the sea and the beaches. As an ode to that, You could spot embroidered sea horses, turtles, shells and waves woven in, within the layers of organza. The embroidery was a mix of threadwork, sequins and beads with hues of gold, pink and white. I wore a ruby necklace that belonged to my mother-in-law to make sure it was accessories well.
The readers also want to know about your trousseau...
For the wedding ceremony and dinner, I designed a light gold tulle lehenga which was inspired by one of my favourite design styles of the ’20s art deco theme. The design details were geometric and abstract floral. It had two dupattas, one-floor length head dupatta with abstract floral delicate details and another draped dupatta with geometric triangular motifs. My favourite detail from this outfit was the back of the blouse, which was a cut-out back mimicking the wings of a butterfly and the shape was again a nod to the deco era. I matched it with a diamond and emerald set. I had my chudas and kaleeras designed by Mrinalini Chandra — who helms her label. We came up with a design that complimented the contemporary style of the lehenga. We chose ivory chudas mixed with pearl and diamond bangles and the dome-shaped kaleeras were crafted in silver, highlighted with crystals and diamantes, with tassels.
What should a Natasha Dalal bride remember on her D-day?
Just be happy and comfortable on your big day! Once you feel great inside there is no doubt that will
Available online.
Rs 1,50,000 upwards.
(You can get in touch with the writer via mail at paulami@newindianexpress.com and follow her on Twitter at @Paulami309)