Rohit Bal excited to bring bridal line on ramp

The India Bridal Fashion Week (IBFW) is coming to the capital for the first time and ace designer Rohit Bal says it will be an opportunity for him to show his bridal line on the ramp, something that he has never done before.

Credited with changing the face of fashion with his design sensibilities in the past two decades, he said: "I have done so many couture shows in the past, but I never showed my bridal collection on the ramp."

"I actually wanted to do a bridal collection and show it (on ramp) because I usually do not do such stuff in store. I only make to order," Bal told IANS.

"Also, when I do couture, I don't mix it with bridal, so I wanted to do my bridal line. IBFW came my way, so I thought of not missing it. It's an amazing time to show bridal collection on the ramp," he added.

Bal, who has spent over two decades in the fashion industry, is known for mixing traditional and modern themes and this is what he promises to showcase at the forthcoming event.

The event, so far been held in Mumbai, will open its first Delhi edition July 23. Scheduled to take place at The Grand hotel, the extravaganza will have a mix of bridal and couture collections by some of the established names in the industry.

Other participating designers at the six-day event are JJ Valaya, Tarun Tahiliani, Raghavendra Rathore, Shantanu and Nikhil, Falguni and Shane Peacock, Suneet Varma, Ashima Leena, Meera and Muzaffar Ali, Adarsh Gill, Jyotsana Tiwari and Rina Dhaka.

According to Bal, there is hardly any difference between bridal and couture in India unlike London, Paris and Italy where couture is synonymous with made-to-measure outfits.

"India's top designers get 60 or 70 percent of their business from bridal trousseau. Indian bridal is in any case couture because I feel that there are certain condition required to make couture piece like it needs to be handcrafted with certain kind of finish and this is what the Indian bridal line signifies," he added.