Luscious in Lavender

With the change in climate and all-things-acceptable in fashion currently, it shouldn’t be a shocker to see a spring staple ruling the Fall/Winter 2019 trends. Till a few years back, nobody could imagine a lavender pairing up with regular autumn colour palette, but the lovely shade has shed its image from being grownups pink to the ‘IT’ colour on international runway and blooming this season.

Pastels never go out of fashion, and with the versatility of lavender to embody luxe with its rich violets to girl-next-door with soft lilacs, it is going to stick around and keep your winter wardrobe cheerful. With designers like Christian Cowan with his iconic feather covered lavender pant suit donned by Cardi B, and brands like Lanvin, Tom Ford, Cushnie celebrating the muted hues of purple globally, the legacy of this beautiful shade could help readapt luxury into contemporary times.

Wedding Wise
Historically, lavender has always been associated with royalty and grace for mature women. Thanks to experimentation, the application is not restricted anymore, says designer Anjul Bhandari. She says, “In the West, lavender was a popular colour for bridesmaid at spring weddings; whereas, for Indian weddings I imagine it to be a perfect shade of Mehendi, sundowner or a destination wedding. A delicate lehenga or a sari with silver embellishments would look very pretty on the bride, her mother or her friends for an outdoor day event. It looks amazing when paired with jewelled tones like rani pink, emerald green, purple or maroon.”

The hue holds a sacred place in nature, while in apparels it is considered the most delicate and precious colour in design, opines designer Sophiya Gupta, adding, “It symbolises refinement and sophistication. To accessorise, pair it with diamonds, polki and kundan sets and create timeless looks.” While designer Suyasha finds it a versatile colour for Indian ensembles and says, “Lavender perfectly suits white and off-white tones. Add a hint of contrast colours like red, light blue and pink if you are aiming for a subtle yet lively look. Highlighting lavender with silver or antique gold detail, via embroidery or assesories will make it stand out.”

Layered Love
Being a lively shade, it becomes fun layering or pairing this particular tone. You can always go for a lavender turtleneck and pair it with flared pants and trench coats for a winter look, advice designer duo Riya and Priya Jadav. “Since fashion is all about trial and error, you could layer your outfit with lavender scarf, slings and jewellery with a tint of colour. Go for matching colours like crisp white, black, gray, warm browns or bold colours like magenta, golden, yellow and pink to create some unusual pairings,” recommends the duo.

Whereas, designers Khushboo and Vidhi Purohit highlight that the colour is popping up everywhere – from Tomford, Kate Spade, Nanushka etc to popular high street brands. The designers add, “One can layer different tones of this shade with earthy colours, or go for contrast looks. Invest in short dresses, tops and jackets in lavender shades, and pair them with bags in darker hues or create a classic day look by pairing a lavender outfit with white accessories.”

Play it Loud
Very often people tend to wear neutral colours for F/W making it safer colour palette to follow, but it becomes a dull and affects your mood. To make things brighter, add lavender or any shade of purple and experiment with new styles to be the talk of the town, suggests designer Aashmika Jain. She says, “It can be a very adaptive colour if you do it right. You could pull an au naturel with an oversized lavender sweater with white pants or denim or could experiment with different shades of lavender and top it off with complementing shades of grey. But if you feel a little bold, you could enliven lavender with a twist of brighter colours like yellow or blue and opt for statement jewellery to bring out the fashionista in you.”

Similarly, designer Pooja Sampat says colours have significance beyond simple visual stimulation, and for her lavender seems to be the new millennial pink. “This season a lot of designers are using it not only as an accent colour, but from head to toe, as monotones as well. The trend has begun to infiltrate the high street market as well and in the coming months you can expect the shade to be dominating occasion wear as well. Whether you prefer your lavender light and airy or deep, with more prominent purple tones, it’s an easy-to-pull-off neutral that still reads edgy, especially when done in fun materials like satin, chiffon or georgette. As an Indian festive- wear designer I love teaming it with gunmetal embellishments as well. In terms of jewellery, I think it pairs beautifully with oxidized silver as well as dull gold statement pieces,” sums up the designer.