Fans of Monisha Jaising's luxe sportswear have always been jet setters who buy the brand's glitzy kurtis and embellished track pants for business class flights to resort destinations.
In 2013, Jaising introduced a line of bridal couture and its appeal lies in a range that encompasses the dressing for the honeymoon, bachelorette spa-rties and pre-wedding cocktails for the travelling bride and her entourage.
For her India Couture Week 2014 show in Delhi on July 17, Jaising researched "the alluring lifestyles of high-bornes [sic] from the past". From Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV's 'official' mistress, she borrowed Rococo inspiration for the embroideries to create a collection for a 'world bride' who "takes her marriage vows in a temple in Rajasthan, a church in Vienna or a mosque in Beirut, and concludes the celebration on a yacht...in St Tropez."
The prize for best couture innovation in her show goes to a sculpted black leather bodice stitched onto a full-bodied skirt in woven Madras silk, outshone by a gold zardozi embroidered, luxe black leather lehenga modelled by actor Lisa Haydon. Dominatrix dulhan, anyone?
