Dress like a diva

Yash Raj Films and Karol Bagh Saree House have tied up to launch Bollywood-inspired fashion apparel

“His heroines were more glamorous because he made them look real and sophisticated without over-the-top hairdos and lip colour, which were common at the time,” says fashion designer Deepika Govind of film maker Yash Chopra’s female stars. This sensibility will be perpetuated in the tie-up between Yash Raj Films and Karol Bagh Saree House (KBSH) that will offer cinema-inspired fashion under the  Diva’ni brand. A boutique was set up in Delhi last year and its flagship store opened in Mumbai last week.

“We are not a movie merchandise brand,” clarifies brand director and co-owner Sanya Dhir. “The designs reflect the larger-than-life scale and grandeur of cinema.” Every woman can access the ethereal diva within her, at least as depicted in Chopra’s films. The entry price of the mid-range Screenplay line is Rs 20,000, while ensembles from the higher-end Made in Cinema and First Lady lines are priced at Rs 30,000-15 lakh.

Sanya Dhir, co-owner and brand director at Diva'ni

The Screenplay line has a young and kitschy appeal. One eye-catching item is a sari with the colour scheme of TV test bars. On its pallu are digitally printed stills from popular Chopra films. The Made in Cinema assortment marries Western silhouettes with motifs such as a classical dancer, dragonflies and butterflies etched in Indian styles. The cuts of the ready-to-wear lines are relaxed, while couture products are more structured and stylised, says the brand’s designer, Anjali Dongre.

At the Mumbai store, a traditional baithak is set up where older women can look at the Banarasi, zardosi, gota, Paris gara, chandelier net and billowy chiffons saris. Handpainted saris are part of the mix too — in fact, 95 per cent of the products are hand-made by craftsmen from Varanasi, Lucknow, Jaipur and Kashmir. The materials are sourced from across India, while the outfits are assembled by designers in Delhi.

The First Lady collection, Diva’ni’s most coveted, can be viewed by appointment only. It is housed in an exclusive area that is done up in black and gold with concealed closets, a spacious changing room and restroom.  Enquiries for bridal trousseaus, of which the brand reportedly sold 86 pieces in its first month in Delhi, have begun in Mumbai too.

A Mughal-style lehenga in bottle green and gold, reminiscent of the ostentatious wedding costumes of Bollywood, has been the best-selling outfit. Some 30 brides wore it in the last season. Also part of the collection is an ankle length ensemble with geometric and floral patterns which is shaped in anarkali style but can be worn as a dress too. This is inspired by the brand’s focus on multi-usage clothes that can be used for diverse occasions like cocktail parties and sangeets. Govind reckons Diva’ni’s concept is interesting and likely to work particularly well with NRIs.