“The fashion industry has come a long way, especially couture because women are now not stuck to just traditional colours but are open to experimenting with newer colours, drapes and silhouettes,” says Rahul Khanna, one half of the designer duo Rohit Gandhi+Rahul Khanna.
As Khanna is gearing up to present their collection ‘Fibonacci’ at India Couture Week, he traces how far the Indian fashion industry has come since the duo established their brand about 25 years ago, “The traditional sari and silhouette have undergone a drastic change and one can see people wearing the modern version of it on the red carpet internationally. The textile industry has evolved—there’s so much fabric innovation, textile embroideries, and technology is playing a key role today.”
The label has kept up with the shifts in the landscape of the fashion scene in India, making structured silhouettes, that somehow appear almost fluid, their trademark. The upcoming collection is an extension of their aesthetic, “In this collection, dramatic fabrics meet precise techniques in defined patterns. Every pattern in this collection is uniform and built with clear lines and divisions. With Fibonacci, we present a world that is perfect, returned from the brink of chaos.”
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Khanna elaborated further, “The collection actually started much earlier in our head, when we decided to venture into an all-out couture zone as a brand. The ideation and process have taken about three to five months and each garment is made entirely by hand taking around 1800-2000 hours with intricately embellished embroideries of pearls, crystals, and metallic fringes.”
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But before Khanna could sign off and accelerate towards the dream vacation he has planned, post the showcase at Couture Week (“After all the madness post-fashion week, I am taking a break and going to Kashmir for 10 days.”), we got him to spill his five salient tips for anyone who wants to embrace structure in their wardrobes in 2022…
“For someone who has a narrow body type, I suggest going with an outfit that has extended padded shoulders.”
“A fitted blouse with a draped sari is a great structured silhouette.”
“Pattern making plays an important role in creating structured garments and using inbuilt corsets is a huge innovation. It gives a good body form. So one can experiment with this too.”
“If you are wearing something flowy then you can pair it with a structured jacket.”
“You can also belt up the structured pieces to accentuate the waist.”
