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Because every wedding outfit this season is also being shot for a reel or a hundred phone cameras under warm function lighting, a deep emerald, a bottle green, a wine, or a rust shade looks far richer in velvet than it does in silk or georgette, and that matters enormously right now,.
“Velvet holds colour unlike almost anything else we work with,” says celebrity fashion designer Ms Niti Bothra, Founder and Creative Director, Label Niti Bothra. Indian wedding season runs on trend cycles almost as tightly as fashion month does, and this year, one fabric that had quietly moved to the back of the wedding wardrobe is stepping right back into the spotlight: velvet. For a long time, velvet was treated as strictly a winter, cocktail-night fabric pulled out for a single evening function and packed away again. That’s no longer the case this wedding season. Velvet simply photographs better. Cape-style velvet jackets are being layered with lighter lehengas for the sangeet, and structured velvet blouses are being paired with lighter silk skirts to keep the overall bridal look wearable, and velvet Anarkalis and angrakha-style sets are showing up for mehendi functions and winter cocktail nights. If you think of opting for velvet as a fabric for weddings this season, you should be aware that there are choices. For the evening or in air conditioning, you can choose a full velvet lehenga or gown, but for the day and outdoors, you might want to limit your use of velvet to selected accessories like the blouse, jacket, or borders. Jewel tones go well with velvet, and generally, there is no embroidery needed on top of a velvet garment. The fabric already has a presence on its own. Pairing a heavier velvet piece with a lighter dupatta or skirt also keeps the wedding outfit from feeling like one dense block. For guests who don’t want to commit to a full velvet outfit. Since velvet already has so much visual weight, the accessories around it need to do less, not more. Statement jewellery works beautifully with velvet, but pick one hero piece – a pair of polki or temple jhumkas, or a heavy choker – and let everything else stay minimal. Putting together a number of thick layers on a luxurious material such as velvet doesn’t complement the fabric at all but just adds to the fabric’s richness. A combination of metals is highly beneficial: a piece of gold or antique silver jewellery, or a metallic clutch or potli bag, creates an interesting style when wearing a dark outfit made out of velvet. Velvet isn’t replacing silk or handloom this wedding season; it’s simply sitting alongside them. Fashion cycles are proof that no fabric is ever really retired. It just waits for the right season to make its case again. This year, that season has arrived.
