Velveteen winters
Rich velvet has staged a comeback into our outfits and how! Fashionistas talk about the trend.
This year has been big on 90s trends — from chokers to glitter to platform heels, we’ve seen them all. Another trend from that era that has made it to runways and even celebrity wardrobes is velvet. The opulent material is no longer just meant for royalty and can be seen in day to day wear. Reigning style queens of Bollywood, Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor, and Amy Jackson have been quick to jump onto the wagon and looked great doing it. We speak to the fashionistas to find out what they think of the trend.
Harshaa Jain, the designer and stylist for fashion house HashTag, says, “The trend’s made a comeback now because no matter who the person is, when they wear velvet, there’s a certain luxurious feel to it. Colours also become brighter and more enhanced when they are combined with velvet. It’s also comfortable and you don’t need to add many accessories to it.”
She adds, “People who like to own unique pieces should look at getting themselves a customised velvet jacket. For those who want to get in on the trend for a short while, I would suggest a jumpsuit or even a few colourful jeggings.”
For Anu Parthasarathy, costume designer, the material has always been a favourite. “I love working with velvet, especially when the song sequence or set is meant to be grand. A gorgeous lehenga with embroidery or a saree with a velvet blouse do the trick for me. I love playing around with the material and sometimes combining it with net, to add an extra oomph factor,” she shares. She goes on to name bottle green, wine, maroon and black as her favourite colours when it comes to velvet couture.
When asked how to incorporate it into one’s wardrobes, she says, “People can try wearing a short dress in the fabric. A nice quilted jacket would look wonderful too.”
“I own a lot of velvet clothes and love to wear them,” says actress Parvathy Nair and adds, “Velvet is perfect for winter time especially if you’re travelling up north or outside the country. There’s so much variety that you can experiment with — caps, boots, scarves and dresses. I especially love velvet in black, grey and violet.”
And how do people down south get their own share of velvet? “It’s not necessary to be dressed head to toe in the material, pairing a velvet top with light pants would look great. Keep the full-sleeved short dresses for the evening and you’re good to go,” she says.