Helmed by Omar and Heeba Sait, Gatsby Collection’s designer label has come up with a gorgeous new compilation for the festive season. We catch up with the couple over their latest edit Fayrouz by Aliph that celebrates understated elegance with luxe fabrics, indo-western silhouettes and delicate embellishments. Omar walks us through the fascinating trajectory of the brand that is spotted on red carpets across the world and on A-lister celebrities.
Tell us about your journey with your design label, Aliph.
We set out to create Aliph with a focus exclusively on red carpet and ceremonial wear — read tuxedos and formal suits. While celebrities have always been a part of the Gatsby story, over the last almost 15 years it has definitely been a lot more visible. Aliph has been worn on every major red carpet and closer home has worked with the likes of Karan Johar, Anil Kapoor, Prabhu Deva, Kamal Haasan, Rajnikanth and Arvind Swami among many other celebrities.
Tell us about your new collection… the styles, hues and fabrics used.
Fayrouz is a curation of timeless wear focusing on indowestern silhouettes for festive occasions. The styles extend from bundi (Nehru jackets), to handcrafted jacquard bandhgalas, kurtas in spun cotton silk and linen silk and handcrafted pin-tuck manipulation along with surface techniques with a combination of thread and zari hand-craftsmanship. All come together in fresh colours like lemon icing yellow, cherry blossom and tea rose pink, teal and ferozi blue, a deep cavern and wine to tie the collection together. Women’s wear focuses on ghararas in jacquard, and pin tuck manipulation and handcrafted surface textured kurtas.
What inspired you to create this collection?
This collection was created to bridge the gap between one-ofa-kind heavily worked ethnic wear that people might never re-use again in their wardrobe and versatile pieces that can be broken down as separates and re-used for multiple occasions.
Do you think there is a shift in the market when it comes to festive wear?
Today people need adaptable festive pieces. Sustainability does not mean use of certain fabrics, it also focuses on how each piece can be re-worn multiple ways and that has become the ethos for our brand — to offer solutions for our clients that are relevant to their needs.
Price on request. Available online and in stores.