Rivaaj Couture’s Gul brings soft florals and fluid elegance
Homegrown label Rivaaj Couture has come up with Gul, which explores softness in form, movement, and spirit. Fluid silhouettes lined with subtle zari, zardozi, sequins, and cutdana work come in shades of soft pastels. Shivani Parakh, the creative director of this Hyderabad-based brand, takes us through the new collection.
Tell us all about Gul in detail.
Gul is a collection that celebrates softness, femininity, and timeless Indian craftsmanship through a contemporary couture lens. The collection is deeply rooted in emotion and movement, with every garment designed to feel regal yet effortless.
The silhouettes are fluid, layered, and intentionally graceful. We’ve explored flowing anarkalis with exaggerated gheras, long panelled kurtas, lehenga sets structured overlay jackets, and kurta-palazzo pairings that create a gown-like elegance while remaining wearable and comfortable.
The collection works extensively with luxurious fabrics like modal satin, organza, mulmul, net, and tissue. Modal satin became one of the defining textiles of Gul because of its fluid drape and rich sheen. Organza and net bring softness and layering, while mulmul adds lightness and comfort. Texture plays a very important role within the collection. Instead of overwhelming the garments with dense surface ornamentation, we focused on creating depth through intricate hand embroidery, fabric layering, scattered motifs, and subtle craftsmanship.
The colour palette features shades like burnt orange, blush pink, dusty lavender, maroon, sage green, ivory, champagne gold, muted reds, and earthy jewel tones.
What’s the idea behind this collection?
The idea was to create occasion wear that feels poetic, intimate, and emotionally timeless. The collection celebrates femininity through softness, movement, and handcrafted detailing while preserving the richness of Indian artistry.
How differently have you employed floral designs for Gul ?
For Gul, florals were approached in a very understated and organic way. Instead of relying on loud floral prints or oversized motifs, we focused on delicate handcrafted butas and embroidery placements that blend naturally into the garment. A recurring design language throughout the collection is the use of smaller scattered motifs — which create softness, texture, and movement without visually over powering the silhouette.
Can you give us a glimpse of your upcoming collection?
Our upcoming collection will continue exploring handcrafted couture but with a stronger emphasis on structure, layering, and textile experimentation. We’re currently working with richer textures, sculpted silhouettes, dimensional embroidery, and handcrafted surfaces that blend softness with stronger couture forms.