Great for cocktails and marriages; Anjali Bhaskar’s Indo-Persian collection Ibtida
- Fashion Featured Lifestyle Retail
RIDDHI DOSHI- 4 minutes read
Samatvam, a high-end designer brand that is known for its use of vibrant colours and designer Anjali Bhaskar’s minute details in zardozi and embroidery, has come up with a spectacular festive collection. Ibtida is a seamless blend of Indian and Persian designs that looks great at a cocktail party or a wedding.
Ibtida, in Urdu means origin, existence, beginning or the birth from which anything primarily begins. It also roughly translates to spring, the season, or the cause. The line gives a contemporary spin to Persian designs and pays homage to Indo-Iranian art influence in the country.
The Persian influence on the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the 12th Century when the Delhi Sultanate settled in India. During this period, Persian traders, merchants, artists and weavers exchanged their goods, products and skills with the Indian craftsmen. Several Persians settled with their family in the north of India even after the Sultanate had exited India, giving birth to Indo-Persian art, design, architecture, jewellery and clothing.
Hence, the line has a lot of Persian flowers such as roses, gerberas, tulips, alstroemeria, iris, chrysanthemum and orchids. These floral delights had been extremely popular amongst the Iranians. It looks all the more stunning on the fabrics that have vivid colours like maroon, pistachio green, beige, mauve, red and purple.
The elegant collection, great as cocktail and party dresses, is heavily influenced by this form of art and design and features Farsi ghararas, pehran (short kurta with loose sleeves) with loose fit straight embroidered pants, hand-embroidered long jackets in zardozi and thread needlework depicting varied flowers.
