Kolkata's flagship store Imara Couture will take your festive wardrobe a notch higher

Imara Couture's luxe Salt Lake flagship store makes for a hip Instagram-worthy shopping destination if  you're looking to switch up your desi wardrobe
A bejewelled clutch at Imara Couture
A bejewelled clutch at Imara Couture

Perhaps the most photogenic studio boutique in town, Imara Couture’s Sector 1 flagship, will stun you with its baroque aesthetics and surprisingly affordable bridal couture and evening wear. The 825 square foot store is designed to make you spend some breezy hours playing dress-up, against the most Instagram-worthy vintage-inspired decor. Imara offers a stellar range of ornate lehengas, evening wear, gowns, ethnic ensembles, ghararas, jewellery, footwear and clutches. It basically has everything you need to sort out a festive wardrobe, and is fast gaining some serious recognition. Veere Di Wedding singer Aditi Singh Sharma was very recently seen wearing an ethnic gown by Imara Couture at a friend’s wedding in Delhi.

<em>Heavily embroidered gown at Imara</em>
Heavily embroidered gown at Imara

Located right above Santa’s Fantasea in Salt Lake, Imara Couture opened its doors in January, and in just a month, has managed to find a lot of success. We spoke to Sonam Agarwal and Prachi Poddar, the two BFFs and freshmen designers who launched Imara on their own. “We wanted to start something of our own, and my family is in the saree business, so this was naturally what we chose. We were somewhat sceptical, since neither of us have a degree in fashion or design. But the response has been phenomenal, and it’s only been a month, so this looks like a step in the right direction,” Sonam tells us, as we make ourselves comfortable in the seating area with some coffee and biscuits.

The first thing you’ll notice if you take a pause and look around is the impeccable range of colours and embroideries peeking out from the collections in display. Sonam and Prachi helped us browse and first took out a bright red raw silk gown with some great zari work, which comes with a matching veil, and costs around Rs 58,000. If you’re looking to shop for elaborate ethnic festive wear, we suggest you look beyond Tarun Tahiliani and head to Imara. Although Sonam reveals that Tahiliani remains a huge inspiration for her.

<em>Kundan Chandbali at Imara</em>
Kundan Chandbali at Imara

One of our favourite pick was a lemon yellow  buttoned crop top and skirt ensemble, featuring floral zari motifs, which surprisingly costs Rs 10,500. We found some desi style casual gowns in pastels, blush and beige, within a price range  Rs 4,500 to Rs 13,900. Another highlight of the collection was an old school cream gharara paired with a embroidered red zari kurta which costs a cool Rs 8,500. You’ll also find some versatile kurtas for casual evening wear, or post-work events. Embroidered tie-dye kurtas from Imara can cost you something like Rs 6,000.

<em>Kundan and beaded danglers at Imara</em>
Kundan and beaded danglers at Imara

“A lot of millennials are looking for elaborate ghagras, and festive crop tops. All our creations are completely hand-embroidered, and we mostly use raw silk and organza,” we are told by Sonam, as we moved towards the tastefully decked up bridal lehenga section. You’ll find lehengas ranging from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1,45,000. Besides the traditional red, fuschia and jewel toned lehengas, we found some excellent summer lehengas in bright pastels, featuring zardosi work, which costs around Rs 1,40,000. You’ll also find some exquisite costume jewellery in a super thrifty price range. We were able to find big kundan jhumkas at just Rs 1,400 and a mangtika at just Rs 600.

Imara Couture also has statement footwear starting from Rs 3,500 to Rs 5,500, and clutches and potli bags, which cost anywhere between Rs 450 and Rs 1800.

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