Source: Vogue
The superior shade of the season? Ivory. How to wear it? Head-to-toe
There’s an innocuous-yet-impactful ivory chikankari kurta edged with gota patti crafts that has claimed top-drawer status in my occasion wear closet for years. Pujas to pre-wedding celebrations, with palazzos and lehenga skirts, I have repeated, repurposed and restyled it in more ways than I can count. For such a serene shade, ivory has had a surprisingly tight grip on Indian couture, holding the de facto title of “classic” colour for a long time now. Rightly so. The new neutral is anything but boring—you can wear it solo, sport it in a panoply of silhouettes, splash it with accessories, cover it with a vibrant jacket or dupatta.
2021’s love for ivory is a welcome palette cleanser to all the colour and chaos that make a typical wedding wardrobe. Does this mean that a new age is upon us, one where crimson reds and blush pinks live in harmony with ivory? Couture loves a (colour-coded) dictator, and ivory and all its iterations, makes for a suitable heir.
The couturiers who embraced ivory in their new collections
Ivory’s pared-back put-together aesthetic points to a shift in priorities post pandemic—the lightness of being we have all been yearning for. Sartorially speaking, “it’s the perfect neutral (like black) and lends itself beautifully to several surface treatments. For me personally, ivory has been a favourite start point for any new collection. The key goal being to create something which stands the test of time and yet is modern and luxurious. In our new Rumeli line, ivory can be found extensively in both menswear and womenswear,“ JJ Valaya tells me.
The rawness, versatility and simplicity of this spectrum is echoed by several other couturiers. Anita Dongre. Anamika Khanna. Tarun Tahiliani. Sabyasachi. Manish Malhotra. Rahul Mishra. Falguni Shane Peacock. All designers are gravitating toward the neutral and have populated their latest couture collections with pieces in the palette. Dongre’s ‘An Ode to Bhuj’ 2021 festive outing is replete with investment-worthy lehengas paired with strappy blouses, exquisite jacket-style kurtas and sumptuous sharara sets for the bride and her tribe. You’ll find ensembles accentuated with the veteran couturier’s signature gota patti and mirror work, but without the tonnage. Anamika Khanna’s India Couture Week 2021 edit is another prime example of ivory couture, cut in weightless fabrics and lined with luxurious crafts.
If anyone swears by this point of hue, it’s Tarun Tahiliani, who has culled out a niche for his frothy tulle lehengas and concept saris. For his latest collection ‘Artisanal Couture’, “beiges have been the mainstay”, but it’s given a 2021 makeover. Think kalidaar lehengas and anarkalis, different cuts of blouses, draped garments and even crop tops + pant sets.
Bollywood brides who aced ivory wedding outfits
The recent crop of celebrity weddings suggest that ivory’s stubbornly photogenic, timeless reign will not be nearing an end anytime soon. When producer Rhea Kapoor tied the knot in August 2021, she eschewed tried-and-tested saturated shades in favour of an ivory sari by Anamika Khanna. Doused in tone-on-tone thread work, her six-yard was teamed with a half-sleeved blouse and topped off with a cape in tones of ivory and gold. She even gave traditional dupattas a raincheck and instead made a statement by picking a veil crafted using thousands of little pearls, a vintage piece from Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas. Her reception look, customised by one of her go-to designers, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, was a Mandala off-white organza circular dress paired with a box pleated organza cape with dramatic sleeves, all hand embroidered in delicate resham work.
The ivory streak was already incubating when Sonam Kapoor Ahuja wore an ivory chikankari lehenga by designer duo for her mehandi in May 2018, and made it the dress code for her star-studded guest list. “Ivory and tones of off-white are a divine palette. Add to it the pristine beauty of chikankari. It is unparalleled because of the finesse, delicacy and elaborate mix of stitches and motifs, along with the tone-on-tone colour palette that makes a chikankari bridal ensemble impossibly refined,” the pair reveal. Thumb back to December 2018, and you’ll also recall Deepika Padukone’s Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla ivory lehenga-sari worn for her reception in Bengaluru.
Your 101 to style an ivory Indian ensemble
As weddings get intimate, brides, bridesmaids and even wedding hoppers want to invest in pieces that will not be relegated to the back of their closets. And ivory makes for the perfect, most refreshing candidate for Indian wear. Ivory and gold has not just been the colour of the season, but years to come. The neutral’s present-day revamp allows its wearer to thaw its staid, serious trope. Ivory today means minimalist or maximalist. It’s timeless. Trendy. Flattering for all. It’s the colour of the woman who owns her femininity and the woman who favours comfort.
Ivory serves as the perfect canvas to merge different influences together. You can wear an ivory organza sari and team it with a traditional weave, be it a blouse or a dupatta. While you can incorporate a hint of contrasting colour, wearing ivory head-to-toe makes for the best look. “Embroideries like zardozi in gold and silver add a richness and regal sheen to ivory. One can also incorporate bursts of colour with borders and finishes in jewel tones. The blouse of the lehenga can also be an absolute contrast to the ivory. We work with lace and crystals to create statement blouses. A dupatta in any other colour, from the softest pink to a vermilion red is a fabulous way to break the ivory,” suggest Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla on making the ivory your own. Your silhouettes don’t need to be limited either. Complement an ivory drape skirt or sharara pants with a metallic blouse or embellished top or waist coat for a friend’s pre-wedding celebration or slip into a slip dress and layer it with a jacket.
As a palette, it also allows you to mix and match your jewellery as you please. You can layer diamonds with polki, or temple jewellery with a hint of pearls to add freshness to your traditional look.
