The conversation of inclusivity and diversity in fashion that was left on seen has been resurrected with Love by the fashion-forward couturier, Gaurav Gupta. His exhilarating fashion film inaugurated the digital edition of the Indian Couture Week (ICW). “Name Is Love” knitted all of us in its narrative theatricality and divinely swirly silhouettes with pearl and jewel embellishments floating over them.
In these troubling times, no Netflix parties, no Skype video calls held us together in its warm embrace like love, and that’s exactly what became the muse for Gaurav Gupta’s new collection. Exploring fluid (identities) silhouettes and fabric manipulation, he displayed garments with exaggerated, beautifully constructed necklines and shoulders.
Ditching the classic colours, Gupta took a plunge into a newer palette of sunrise orange, starry night blues, monotone beige, hot red, and greys for intimate weddings this season. The “greys” and “blues” did quite the opposite, floating as waves on fabrics like organza, crepe, silk crepe and silk georgette. The 50 womenswear, 20 menswear looks featured wings and over-the-top ruffles, complemented by 50 pieces of unexpected, contemporary jewellery.
Gupta’s couture took on a different shape (quite literally with 3D floral appliques) on the bodies of homosexual couples, a trans-female supermodel, a jewellery designer, a body-positive model, all of the diverse skin colours. They represented me and you, celebrating love on our their terms, donning gleaming faces with barely-there makeup, embracing and exposing their true selves.
Gaurav Gupta, known for his subversive fashion, once again changed the fabric (pardon the pun) of fashion weeks with a saccharine monologue by the poetess, Navkirat Sodhi who also modelled in the architectural clothes. The winning factor for us wasn’t the holy matrimony of tradition and modernity, but how the fabrics, as well as silhouettes, flattered all body types and skin colours.
