Future heirlooms and sacred silhouettes: Gaurav Gupta’s bridal debut is pure couture poetry
At Gaurav Gupta’s last haute couture showcase in Paris, fashion collided with fire. The show opened not with a model, but with his life partner, poet Navkirat Sodhi, walking the ramp draped in fluid white fabric that revealed simulated burn marks across her skin—a searing symbol of pain transfigured into beauty. Across The Flame was not just a fashion moment; it was an emotional reckoning that made global headlines and burned itself into couture memory.
Designing with emotion: The sacred energy behind Quantum Entanglement
Now, Gaurav returns—not to silence the fire, but to contain it within something sacred. Earlier this month, inside Mumbai’s Jio World Convention Centre, he unveiled his most personal work to date: Quantum Entanglement, a landmark debut in Indian bridal couture. This was not merely a show—it was a theatre of emotion, staged across three interconnected acts: the glamour of cocktail hour, the sanctity of vows, and the exuberance of the reception. Over 500 guests were invited not just to witness fashion, but to feel it.
This collection is Gaurav Gupta’s homecoming—not a retreat, but a return to ritual, to roots, and to the art of storytelling through silhouette. The couturier opens up to Indulge about why this is his most intimate work yet, how bridalwear changed his creative rhythm, and why legacy, like love, is never static—it’s stitched, shaped, and reborn with every generation.
This collection has been described as your most rooted work to date. What did “homecoming” mean to you as a designer who’s made waves globally, from Paris to India?
Homecoming, for me, was both emotional and creative. After years of presenting on global platforms, returning to Indian bridalwear felt instinctive and almost inevitable. It was about grounding myself in the culture, craft, and ceremony I come from, while still speaking in my own language of sculptural form and innovation.
This collection is deeply rooted in our heritage through Banarasi weaves, zardozi, handcrafted motifs, but filtered through a lens that feels modern, architectural, and emotional. It’s not about looking back; it’s about returning to where it all began, with a renewed sense of purpose and presence.
You took a deliberate pause from the Paris Haute Couture calendar to focus on bridal. What emotional or creative shift did that space allow you to explore?
Bridalwear carries a different emotional frequency; it’s deeply personal, symbolic and sacred. The pause gave me space to explore intimacy that is such an integral part of Indian weddings. I was able to immerse myself in Indian craft, work closely with our artisans, and focus on designing that comes from a space of emotion. It was less about creating for the runway, and more about designing for one of life’s most meaningful moments.
You draw from such diverse influences—Art Nouveau, Indian royalty, ancient mythology. How did you distill these grand, sometimes opposing ideas into a unified bridal vision?
For me, these influences aren’t opposing, they’re different expressions of timeless beauty. Art Nouveau brings fluidity and organic movement, Indian royalty lends structure and opulence, and mythology offers symbolism and depth.
The unifying thread was emotion. Each element, whether an architectural-inspired embroidery, a sculptural drape, or a floral motif was distilled through our couture lens to feel cohesive and contemporary. The result is a collection that feels rooted yet boundaryless, where every reference serves the bride’s personal transformation.
Many designers disrupt tradition; you’ve chosen to evolve it.
I’ve never believed in breaking tradition for the sake of it. Instead, I see tradition as a living language, one that can be expanded, reimagined, and evolved—I often refer to this as
‘India Forward.’
With this collection, the silhouettes may feel sculptural and modern, but the foundation is deeply rooted in ritual, whether through the lehenga form, the draping of the dupatta, or the use of ancestral techniques like zardozi and brocade. The daring comes in how we reframe these elements through asymmetry, engineered embroidery or unexpected material play while still preserving their symbolic integrity.
You called this your “most personal work yet.” Can you share what intimate or internal journey shaped these designs?
This collection came from a space of deep emotional stillness. Over the past year, I experienced a period of healing and reflection personally and creatively. That inner shift changed the way I approached design.
There wasn’t one defining moment, but a quiet unfolding. I began to see the bridal garment not just as couture, but as a vessel for emotion, for becoming. The work became softer, more intuitive, yet still strong in form. Every silhouette, every handwoven thread carries that internal journey—of love and the individuality of the modern bride today who is unafraid to be herself.
The idea of “future heirlooms” feels powerful — timeless, yet transformative. How do you design for a bride who wants to honour her past but claim her own narrative?
Designing future heirlooms means creating pieces that hold both memory and momentum. For today’s bride, it’s about honouring where she comes from through textiles but expressing who she is becoming through form, detail, and silhouette. Each garment is crafted to feel timeless in craftsmanship, yet entirely personal in expression. It’s not just something to pass down, but something to remember yourself by, a garment that marks a moment of transformation and stays relevant across generations.
You’ve long been a sculptor of silhouettes but bridalwear carries emotional weight. How did you approach form and structure differently when designing for a day so symbolic?
With bridalwear, form isn’t just about aesthetics, it’s about emotion. Every silhouette had to hold the weight of ritual, memory, and personal transformation.
While I’ve always sculpted fabric with precision and movement, this time the structure had to feel intimate. We softened the architecture with fluid drapes, allowed space for breath, and infused each piece with a sense of sacredness. The forms are still bold, but they’re rooted in feeling.
Who is the Gaurav Gupta bride in this moment? And who is she becoming?
The Gaurav Gupta bride today is confident, intuitive, and deeply individual. She respects tradition but doesn’t feel bound by it and is unafraid to redefines it on her own terms.
She is becoming more than a bride, she’s becoming a symbol of transformation. In that moment, she holds the past, present, and future within her. She chooses couture not just for how it looks, but for how it makes her feel.
This collection feels like a chapter, not just a standalone moment. How has it redefined your own understanding of legacy both personal and professional?
This collection has redefined legacy for me as something living, not static. Personally, it’s been a return to emotion, to craft, to storytelling that feels intimate and enduring. Professionally, it’s a step into a deeper dialogue with Indian tradition, one that doesn’t replicate, but reinterprets.
Legacy, for me now, is about creating work that holds meaning over time. Bridalwear allowed me to design with permanence in mind, to craft pieces that become part of someone’s memory and part of generations to come.
— manuvipin@newindianexpress.com
@ManuVipin
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