Hyderabadi designer Swathi Veldandi’s latest bridal-wear edit Raah presents the Nizami bride in a modern avatar

HYDERABADI DESIGNER SWATHI Veldandi leaves no stone unturned in bringing royal charm to her collections, one where heritage meets opulence. This time, the Warangal-born designer has shot a stunning bridal wear campaign that bears her signature for Nizami style embroidery in wedding wear. The collection titled Raah, meaning pathway, is inspired by nature’s allure.

However, this time, she went more extravagant to create a full-scale bridal collection with 20 lehenga ensembles. “When we decided to create Raah, we wanted to do something out-of-the-box, something out of our comfort zone and experiment with colours, embroideries and the look of the collection on the whole. Finally, it was created keeping in mind the beautiful modern bride who is not afraid to experiment and look gorgeous while opting for new designs,” she tells us.

Telling us more, Swathi shares, “This collection is drawn from nature and its enchanting elements — the birds, flowers, leaves, trees and so much more. We combined nature's essence with Indian heritage in the form of detailed embroidery and chose to use zardozi extensively, giving the collection a royal Nizami yet a contemporary look.” Nizami style designing is dominant in Swathi’s past collections too, like Nadira, where kalidar lehengas were embellished with aari and zardosi.

The decadent pieces in the collection include intricate embroidered details of aari and zardosi on luxe fabrics like raw silk, Italian silk and organza. Elaborating on the design process, she tells us, “We wanted to do something that made a mark and can convey a story. So we spent days and nights brainstorming, seeking inspiration and eventually, putting in hours of work in creating samples for the designs. It was quite hectic! The colour selection process was interesting and fun though. We wanted to experiment with colours and yet keep it striking for our clientele. So we arrived on a palette of lavender, onion pink, teal and the crowd favourite — the blue and red combination.”

Swathi has got a ringside view of the fashion and beauty industry having previously worked as a makeup artist, and event manager and finally, dabbling into fashion design. She’s seen the changing choices of contemporary brides in today’s time. She shares with us how the new-age brides want to dress, “As I seem to understand the up-and-growing Indian fashion industry, brides are likely to opt for elegant ensembles more than anything else. Be it a classic maroon lehenga or a multicoloured contemporary lehenga, their primary criterion for selection is elegance. Their weddings are one of the most important life-changing events of their lives and on this day, they want to feel royal. And that’s exactly how the modern bride wants to look in today’s world.”

Price on request. Available in-store at Banjara Hills.
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