No matter how much you stay away from bling, a little bit of shine and shimmer is always welcome during Diwali. While glamour and glitter are an integral part of Diwali, sartorial choices during the festival have evolved over the years, and reflect a cosmopolitan and global approach towards fashion —in terms of style, fabrics, silhouettes and colours. This year too is no exception, as we find the incorporation of interesting hues, smart cuts and growing use of sustainable and organic fabrics, in sync with the global trend of ethical fashion.
Though bright colours are always preferred during festivities, they are being superceded by many interesting pastel hues, including champagne and corals this year. The other colours in fashion include neutrals like grey and a blend of cool colours like navy or powder blues. Millennials are also ditching the age-old salwar and kurta or lehenga choli in favour of Indo-Western or fusion wear in fabrics made of natural fibre such as cotton, linen, jute or even khadi. Sari-style drapes teamed with pants, dhoti pants with crop tops or sequinned shirt tops, or a crop top worn with a draped skirt along with a cape, make for stunning Diwali ensembles.
Asymmetrical cuts with organic drapes are definitely in vogue this season, so make the most of them. To be on the safe side, couturiers suggest that you avoid wearing anything that tends to catch fire easily, and don’t opt for dresses that are oversized, frilly or flowy like trailing lehengas or long kurtas.
To make things easy, we curated four very trendy Diwali looks for you to don this year, each of which features a mix of modern cuts with traditional designs. And, who better than actor Arpita Chatterjee to showcase them for us? An accomplished actor and a dutiful mom, Arpita has stunning looks and is always in great shape. The ever-busy actor, who’s working on a slew of meaningful Bengali movies, with a bunch of new and not-so-new directors, took time out to shoot with us — and the results are for all of you to see.
Fashion, fitness and more
“When it comes to fashion, the focus is always on comfort first, and I am a huge fan of all things organic. White is my all-time favourite colour, and I love shades like off-white, cream, beige, ivory white or milky white. My choice of attire is solely based on occasions and weather, which plays a huge role. During summer, it’s always lightweight, loose-fit and flowy clothes for me, while winters are all about colourful, fitted clothes in bright shades of red, coral, orange and black. I love wearing trench coats with boots and scarves — you can never go wrong with them.
During the monsoon season, I usually opt for chiffons, georgettes and light crepes, as they are easy to manage. Otherwise, left to myself, simple jeans and shirts or tops are my kind of comfort wear. For formal occasions, I personally love wearing ethnic wear, especially saris in different weaves of cotton and silk, and I have a few pure Kanjivarams from Nalli in plain colours, a few pure lace saris from Singapore and pure Lucknowi chikankari saris that I love repeating.
I am not at all an accessories person, and I only wear a pair of diamond studs, and a small pendant. I don’t have any particular craving for shoes, bags or watches, but if I am wearing something, it has to be the best. Make-up beyond shooting is an absolute no for me, and I love to let my skin breathe.
When it comes to fitness, I am a gym person and I try to exercise daily. But I don’t like routines, and when I’m working, sometimes I do not get the time to visit the gym at all. So, fitness for me is a mix of exercise and diet.
My diet too is not exclusive, except, I stress on low-fat, low-oil and low-carb food. I don’t eat fish at all, despite being a Bengali, and mostly stick to veggies and eggs apart from chicken, at times. Continental food is my most favourite cuisine.
A spot of ‘son’-shine
This year, Diwali is extremely special for me as my son, Trishanjit, will be there with me after eight years. He studies in a boarding school, and this time, his break has coincided with Diwali. So, we will be spending time together and going to a relative’s place for Kali Puja.
Every year, I wait for the Pujas to have homecooked bhog at that relative’s place, which is just heavenly. Apart from that, we all visit a lot of friends, who organise Pujas at their homes. As usual, I will be wearing a nice lightweight sari to carry through the day.
In the pipeline
Arpita’s upcoming movies include Borun Babur Bondhu, Hobuchandra Raja Gobuchandra Mantri, Avijatrik, Guldasta, Purba Paschim, Hridpindo, Rifle, Bohoman and Abyakto.
Model: Arpita Chatterjee Hair & Make-up: Aniruddha Chakladar Pictures: Debarshi Sarkar Styling: Poulami Gupta Clothes: RI Ritu Kumar and Ruceru Jewellery: Zenith Pret and Bespoke Jewellery and Harshita Sultania Location courtesy: Hyatt Regency, Kolkata