Payal Khandwala’s latest celebrates reimagined handwoven saris

Payal Khandwala launched her eponymous label in 2012; she’s since been one of Bollywood’s most popular designers often seen on stars like Alia Bhatt, Diana Penty, Karisma Kapoor, Neha Dhupia, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sonali Bendre, Dia Mirza and Raveena Tandon among many others. Last seen at Lakmé Fashion Week 2020, she’s known for her clothes that are all about ‘quiet luxury’ and her silhouettes are often celebrated for being comfortable and chic. Payal began the label, “because an opportunity arose to show at a fashion week, and I couldn’t seem to find the clothes I would have liked to wear, and it seemed easier to just make them.” “I was working as a full-time artist then, but I had studied fashion in Mumbai before I studied fine arts in New York, so I thought it would be a nice shift in canvas. I just wanted to make clothes that were more about personal style and quiet luxury,” explains the designer who has a background in fine arts and fashion.

Her new collections (Release 4 and 5), available online, are part of a series that began in early 2021. Release 1 was inspired by Swiss architect Mario Botta’s San Giovanni Battista in Mogna, Switzerland, and was a nod to architecture. Varying weights of staggered lines were engineered to create a rhythm of stripes across colour and texture. An illusion of checks, created with the use of translucent textile, mimicked the play of space and light. The collection featured handwoven silks and organzas that were layered using structured tailoring and drape, in a palette of deep hues like indigo, olive, coffee, crimson and magenta punctuated with silver silk and silver metallic yarn.

Release 2 was an extension of their earlier drop and this collection of silk saris continued their explorations with line and texture. Release 3, followed soon after and focused on engineered silk brocades and that led to Release 4, which is divided into two separate collections — sari and prêt.  “Release 4 was inspired by the poppy. Not just because it is a strong graphic but also because it symbolises so many different things to different cultures across the world… love, loss, peace, remembrance and suffering. And at a time like this it seemed the perfect motif to echo what our planet is going through. The idea was to use the motif in a bold scale with a striking palette of bright hues with pastels to offset them. The silhouettes are easy and versatile keeping in mind the summer months. We have everything from palazzos, to dresses, maxis, jumpsuits, the much-loved kurta and also a whole collection of saris, so this was quite an extensive release,” enthuses Payal.

The collection focuses on a range of fabrics from signature heat set pleats, satins, poplins, linens and georgettes to ensure that there were enough options for different wardrobe needs and occasions. Scarlet, magenta, violets and citrine are teamed with softer shades of sage green, powder blue and blush pink and neutrals like chocolate brown and ivory. The idea behind the complex palette being that saturated hues could coexist seamlessly with more reticent ones.

“We have eco-friendly cottons and linens, but we’re a sustainable label because we don’t overproduce and we never go on sale. Our clothes last and we don’t follow trends, so in general as a philosophy we don’t encourage overconsumption, which is perhaps the only way to be truly sustainable long term. As a label, from inception, we’ve focused on shapes that work for women of all ages, sizes and shapes. I make it a point to make our clothes easy and practical, and to include free size silhouettes that free women from the tyranny of size, whether big or small. When I sample new shapes, I get all the different women in my team to try them on so I can fine-tune proportions accordingly. Our success as a brand is testament to this. So, for us inclusivity has never been just a buzzword. This collection is therefore, for all the dreamers out there. In a way, it’s a nod to all those who look for a silver lining even when it seems like there is none,” concludes the designer.

INR 8,500 to INR 28,800. Available online. 

romal@newindianexpress.com
@elromal