Bhawna Rao’s Under the Stars collection brings celestial drama to couture gowns

Bhawna Rao, the Delhi-based designer who is a celebrity favourite and is known for her structured, shimmer-and-shine gowns, has brought out her latest collection, Under the Stars, where couture meets the cosmos. The ensembles feature her signature embellishments with glass-cut beads and Swarovski crystals, crafted using weightless tulle to allow freedom of movement as well as make an impact. The thoughtful placement of the artwork that accentuates and shapes the body is what makes her creations stand out. Each piece in Under the Stars is designed to mirror the rhythm of the cosmos.

Stardust craftsmanship: Crystals, beads and hand embroidery

Draped corsets, fluid skirts, sculpted waists, and dramatic slits trace the delicate trails of stardust across the night sky.

The colour palette transitions from ethereal pastels like blush pink, pearl nude, and moonlit silver to cosmic hues of electric blue, radiant red, and nebula green. The universe’s dual nature has been captured beautifully with the interplay of softness and intensity— gentle yet fierce, calm yet endlessly alive.

Bhawna tells us that the collection was born from an intimate, almost ethereal moment—“that instant when a woman feels something shift within her, as though an entire universe has awakened under her skin.”

“I was captivated by the idea of inner constellations igniting: imagination expanding like stardust, confidence glowing brighter than the night sky. It’s that quiet yet powerful spark of femininity that inspired me—a sense of being limitless, luminous, and beautifully self-assured,” she shares.

To bring the cosmos to life, Bhawna created silhouettes that feel fluid, radiant and in perpetual motion, much like galaxies themselves. Draped corsetry mirrors the curved pathways of celestial orbits, while sculpted waists and dramatic slits evoke movement and energy. “The cosmic narrative becomes tactile with textures: crystals, sequins and fine glass beads are placed to emulate star clusters, nebula trails and shimmering astral light. Every surface catches and scatters light, mimicking the hypnotic glow of the night sky,” she explains.

Craftsmanship, like every other Bhawna Rao creation, is the heartbeat of this collection too. “To get the celestial effect right, each bead, crystal and sequins have been hand-placed to create gradients of luminosity, almost like painting the sky with light. To allow the garments to move like galaxies in motion our artisans spent countless hours perfecting techniques. Without that level of meticulous handwork, the cosmic illusion would fall flat,” says Bhawna.

With Under The Stars, Bhawna marks a shift toward a more expressive, dream-driven narrative. “While my earlier collections celebrated elegance and structure, this one explores emotion, fantasy and inner power. The silhouettes are bolder, the embellishments more experimental, and the palette stretches from serene pastels to explosive cosmic tones,” says Bhawna, for whom the biggest challenge was balancing luminosity with refinement. “When working with heavy embellishment and reflective surfaces, it’s easy for the garments to feel overwhelming. Our goal was to create pieces that glow, not glare. Achieving that meant countless trials with bead density, light play and fabric fluidity. Another challenge was ensuring movement—the gowns had to flow like stardust, not feel weighed down by it. Perfecting that ethereal lightness was a labour of love,” she shares.

Many pieces feature custom-mixed bead palettes designed to mimic celestial hues like moonlit silver, nebula green, cosmic blue, and blush-pink stardust. The fabrics include soft tulles, silk lycra and specially treated mesh that enhances the reflective quality of the embellishment. To refract light from every angle, techniques like draped corsetry, layered beadwork and multi-directional embroidery have been used.

“Each gown took anywhere from 250 to 600 hours, depending on the complexity of the constellations we are creating. Some pieces require multiple layers of hand-embroidered stardust, while others involve intricate draping and structural sculpting. Couture, for us, is not measured in hours but in the devotion poured into every shimmering detail,” she says.

Not just hand embroidery but fabrics are custom-dyed to achieve the exact ethereal tones the designer envisioned to mimic the sky’s natural luminosity. “The dyeing and embroidery often work hand in hand, allowing the colours and embellishments to blend seamlessly like a night sky fading into dawn,” she says.

Price starts at Rs 1.3 lakh. Available online.

—manuvipin@newindianexpress.com

@ManuVipin

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