In the world’s second-most populous country, most of the money, attention and design that goes into clothing are focused on a single event in a woman’s life: a huge, opulent wedding. Even the subcontinent’s most cutting-edge ready-to-wear designers fund those lesser activities with sales from their couture bridal collections. Indeed, bridal wear accounts for 80 per cent of India’s fashion industry.
So it’s no surprise that Mumbai’s glitterati were in full attendance at the showing of the Swarovski-studded collection put on by Tarun Tahiliani at last year’s India Bridal Fashion Week. Tahiliani is a noted Indian designer, both of ready-to-wear and bridal fashion, infusing some western elements into his richly coloured gowns and taking advantage of a growing $20bn-a-year industry.
Other Indian designers, such as Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Rohit Bal, also do big business in bridal wear. “The big weddings will last four, five, six days,” says Bandana Tewari, fashion features editor at Vogue India. “And while for the most radical westernised couples you might have a segment where you can wear something foreign – even, say, Comme des Garçons – the main day will always be extremely traditional. You’d never wear western clothes.”