House of Masaba's new collection unites two indigenous art forms from India and East Africa

From hijab saris to fishtail lehengas, the Masaba memo always keeps it spanking fresh. House of Masaba’s Autumn/Winter line-up is out just in time to make our Diwali kitschy and bright with festive bloom and to sort your bridal shopping anxieties. We dropped into the label’s Woodburn Park Road store to browse through the newest collection only to discover that Masaba Gupta’s sartorial genius can only be toppled by Masaba Gupta herself.

The trailblazing designer’s newest line-up combines the brand’s love for flora and fauna and marries the aesthetic detailing of two prominent indigenous art forms of India and East Africa - the Gond Art of Madhya Pradesh and the Noel Kapanda Tingatinga painting style of the Oyster Bay area in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. While the Gond Art uses dots and lines to create mystical shapes and motifs, the Tingatinga style is all about a festive take on the figures of birds and animals.

“As a brand, we have long been associated with altering the perception of the Indian bride by letting her be the creature of comfort she deserves to be through fuss-free silhouettes. A melting pot of cultures, this collection marries tradition with concurrent as well as yesteryear’s trends and inspirations. The collection is brought to life with rich fabrics like silks, organza, taffeta, crushed silks and crepe,” we are told. The festive collection focuses on vivid, dimensional florals which are paired with a popping colour scheme featuring electric pinks and blues, neons, and sunshine yellows. We found some striking colour clash and an abundance of Masaba’s signature kitschy accents. 

The line-up consists of fusion sets, tunics, salwar sets, flared bottoms, embellished bustier, shrugs, conceptual saris, lightweight lehengas and easy one-shoulder silhouettes. The first number which we spotted at the Kolkata flagship was a Pink Patchwork & Fray Embellished Blouse with Crush Pink Embroidered Lehenga - a beautiful silhouetted number featuring fantastic futuristic edits and a wonderful synergy of metallic and neon.

We love how the new line-up has been designed to flatter curves of all kinds. “This line is a union of our sensibilities with modern trends to design a figure-hugging yet conservative silhouette to flatter the Indian curves!” the designer writes on Instagram.

We are also told that this collection aspires to give the customers a look into Masaba’s earlier work, and is sort of a culmination of her trajectory so far. The label also introduces some global fashion trends which are hugely relevant in international pret and high fashion spectrums. The smock, for instance, has been the biggest favourite to have emerged out of the last fashion week season, and in Masaba’s lineup, we found some chic smocked Kurtas paired with Chudidar and Jungle Print Dupattas. One of our favourite numbers is the limited edition Pink Crush Embellished One-Shoulder Tunic which can be teamed with Brown Giraffe Pop Pants, and could make for the ideal card party styling this Diwali. 

The collection is available at the Kolkata outlet. Price on request.