Started as a small endeavour from the precincts of Lata Harlalka’s home in 1998, homegrown label Palki is now renowned globally for its Indo Ethnic line of bridal and party clothing. The label, spearheaded by Lata along with Vikram and Anvesha Harlalka, amalgamates age-old craft with contemporary silhouettes with a clever mix of fabrics and cuts further embellished with handcrafted threadworks in mukaish, dabka and zardosi. Working mostly on traditional Benarasi silks and brocades among other regional fabrics, they also specialize in textured prints and fancy dyeing.
Their winter wedding collection too exhibits all the intricate details they are known for. “The winter edit comprises rich fabrics and different weaves like silk, tussar, tissue and velvets in deep jewel tones like coral pink, ruby red, emerald green, purple and burgundy among others. Our speciality is ethnic wear so, within that segment we have introduced layers in lehengas besides jacket blouses,” tells Lata.
Like most of their ensembles, this collection too mostly comprises the evergreen regional weaves including the opulent kanjeevarams from the south, gorgeous paithanis from Maharashtra, and the elegant patolas from Gujarat. “A woven sari or a dupatta in itself looks resplendent. Hence combining this with the fine workmanship accentuates the entire look and these are classic pieces that can be worn over the years,” tells Lata, who has been promoting a variety of handlooms for 24 years, now.
Lata feels, that youngsters, who are mostly influenced by celebrity fashion trends showcased on social media, look out for customised outfits and her label too encashes on the demand. “What works best for them is something which is lightweight, strappy blouses and easy to drape,” she observes.
With people going overboard with celebrations, Lata feels that wedding fashion this winter will be dominated by well-designed saris and lehengas. “With wedding functions now extending over several days, the demand for occasion-specific outfits has gone up drastically too. And destination weddings and theme-based functions have further stoked the demand. Also, because of social media, people do not like repeating clothes,” tells Lata when asked about how the wedding fashion market has evolved over the years.
While Plaki does have a range of plain six-yard saris without much embellishments, their USP lies in adding some extra element by mixing and matching various fabrics and adding interestingly designed blouses. They are also popular for their vast range of skirt saris or frill saris that are extremely popular among young buyers for ease of wear.
“The wedding wardrobe of any bride must consist of a minakari Bandhej saree, a Benarasi or patola dupatta with a suit or crushed skirt, a tissue sari and of course, a few heavy designer blouses in some basic colours. The belts in different styles that go with most outfits are trending big this year. But more than anything, enjoying your own wedding without stress is more important than getting the perfect lehenga,” she advises.
Palki’s upcoming collection will have a lot of velvet and tissue outfits besides a gorgeous collection of party wear saris in glass tissue, and sequinned fabrics in net and lace.
We shoot four very gorgeous looks from Palki’s wedding collection on our equally elegant muse, actress Ushasi Ray.
Price on request. On palki.co.in. 118, Ashutosh Mukherjee Road
CREDITS: Pictures: Debarshi Sarkar / Hair and makeup: Abhijit Paul assisted by Sananda Mondal Laha / Styling: Anupam Chatterjee / Jewellery Mahabir Danwar Jewellers, Virrayaa Jewellery / Location courtesy: The Park Hotel Kolkata