Bridal Wear For The Free-Spirited, Anupama Dayal Takes You Through The Sundari Collection

She is rooted but she flows. 

Anupama Dayal’s social media accounts are choc-a-bloc with her various travels to glorious places and the subsequent collections inspired by them.

“I’m a very immersive traveller, I go deep into cultures very easily and it’s a really heady ‘nasha’ for me. I just find India very riveting and my travel style is a little different where you come home with a wealth of knowledge,” she says. 

Photo credit: Facebook/Anupama Dayal

And, the royal state of Rajasthan is the muse for her latest collection, aptly titled, Sundari or beautiful. But, if you were expecting the usual gilded grandeur and regal vibe of the place reflected in the garments, you’re in for a pleasant surprise. Colourful, vibrant and shimmering – the collection absorbs the rich and whimsical folk traditions with a generous dose of signature prints that have become the mainstay for the label.

“Sundari, for me, is based in an imaginary village in Rajasthan. It could actually be any Indian village but I chose Rajasthan because it is just such a spectacular place and the women are always so gorgeous. This collection is about telling women how beautiful they are and how empowering it is to actually accept it,” she says.

As Indian bridal wear becomes more experimental with traditional vermillion hues making way for pastel pink and mint, many brides-to-be choose to personalize their outfits for the D-day. And, that’s the sentiment that echoes in Sundari too.

Photo credit: Facebook/Anupama Dayal

Anupama agrees, “Sundari is not a typical bridal collection. It’s not like the other bridal wear. Bridal wear can sometimes be a little cookie-cutter but Sundari isn’t like that. Even the models that wore the collection added their own personality and individuality to the outfits. So, even though it has all the decorative bridal elements, it has plenty of space for a bride to add her own essence.”

Just like the Anupamaa bride, the collection is rather free-spirited too having been showcased in Paris and Miami already before making an appearance on Delhi runways. Ribbon braided through hair, tasselled earrings and minimal jewellery the outfits were styled rather eclectically.

So, is crisp, clean and minimalistic the new trend for Indian weddings? Well, not really, as Anupama says, “I love rich traditional Indian colours and I use them with a very free hand in the collection. There is no method to the madness. I will stay true to keeping Indian silhouette relevant especially the sari. I call them relevant because unless you tweak them around, you cannot stay relevant. Change is essential. In that sense, I am not traditional, but if you look a little closer at the outfits – the textiles, the fabric and the spirit of the collection, you will see it is rooted in Indian tradition.”