This couture collection explores love through layered fabrics and maximalist detailing

VAZANEH’s latest collection, VAZANEH The Second, explores love beyond romance as a journey of vulnerability, transformation, and self-discovery. Each piece reflects a different stage of emotional growth, showing how deep human connections can shape identity and self-expression.

The art of controlled drama

The statement showstopper of the collection is a crystal-embellished lehenga paired with a dramatic trailing cape, rendered in hues of black, pink, gold, ivory, and violet. There is a quiet intensity to all the outfits. Each garment reflects meticulous craftsmanship, featuring hand-painted details, delicate crystal and stone embellishments, and layered floral embroideries.

The collection is further elevated through a rich interplay of luxurious fabrics such as Habutai silk, Italian tulle, French Chantilly lace, lamé, and silk satin. These fabrics are carefully selected to create a balance of structure, texture, and dimension.

Silhouettes lean toward a structured and textural design language, combining precision tailoring with layered construction. Sculpted bodices, corsetry, fishcut lehengas with capes, and sharply defined shapes are complemented by exaggerated sleeves and architectural cuts, creating depth and visual movement.

Prbhjiit Maniktala says the idea behind the collection came from a personal exploration of love as something layered, evolving, and at times contradictory. “As a young label, we’re still discovering our language, and this collection became a way of understanding what we stand for—unapologetic aesthetics, but always with control and intention,” she shares.

When asked how the idea of love as transformation translated into clothing, she explains, “Transformation came through layering, both emotionally and physically. We’ve worked with sheer tulles, organzas, and georgettes over silks, including Habutai silk, to create depth and movement. Colours move through ombrés, embroidery builds and then disperses, and silhouettes shift between fluid and structured—so the garments never feel static.”

She further shares that a specific emotion guided the design process. “It was a quiet intensity—vulnerability, but with strength. The collection sits in that in-between space where emotion is present but controlled. Even at its most detailed, there’s restraint in how everything is placed,” she says.

The showstopper lehenga was designed as the emotional high point of the collection. The ensemble uses Italian shimmer tulle layered over an ombré silk base, creating a luminous, shifting surface. The embroidery is built on aari work forming fluid scrolls and florals, elevated with metallic threads, micro-crystals, new-cut stones, beadwork, and sequins. It is dense across the bodice and skirt for structure, before gradually dispersing into the cape, which becomes lighter and more sheer.

The cape extends seamlessly from the neckline, adding movement and elongation, while the torso remains sculpted and fitted. It holds both intensity and lightness within a single look.

“Fabrics are central to the narrative--each chosen for how it interacts with light and movement. The garments reveal themselves gradually as they move,” says Prbhjiit, adding that the collection reflects his evolution as a designer.

“As a young label, this collection reflects a move towards clarity. We are drawn to maximalism, but are learning to control and edit it. It’s about balancing richness with restraint,” she signs off.

Prices start at ₹1 lakh. Available online.

—manuvipin@newindianexpress.com

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