Big fat Indian wedding sheds the flab

The recession has hit the big fat Indian wedding, too.
Brides are now cutting costs and, according to designer duo Shantanu-Nikhil, families of the bride and groom are going to great lengths to manage their expenditure. Dwelling on fashion in current times on itimes, the designers have said, ���The wedding and the reception seems to have become functions, where both families show their solidarity and split the bill by having it on the same day.And brides have gone to the extent of asking the designers to create a lehenga that can be reversible. Can you believe that? Talk about a fashion faux pas.��� BT finds out more from the experts.
���It���s like a theatre workshop. You pick up certain pieces and use them again for another show,��� says designer Nikhil Mehra. ���We have come across unique demands. Brides want to reuse a choli for an event or want us to rework a dupatta. But people have cut down significantly on events. So, you have two functions instead of four and you don���t need as many outfits. Now people are getting married the human way, without the Jodhaa Akbar set-up,��� he says.
Designer Krishna Mehta agrees. ���The number of functions have reduced and are being combined to save expenses. But designers haven���t felt the pinch yet. By August we will know the real situation,��� she says.
But Nikhil maintains that designers won���t reduce the price for their work. ���We are artistes and these designs are our work of art. The recession can���t affect art, so our prices won���t go down. We make masterpieces and can���t compromise on the prices,��� he says. Krishna Mehta says that those who go for designer wear understand that it belongs to a certain price slot. ���It���s quality work. So, the clients may want fewer garments but they understand that the cost remains the same,��� she says.
As for jewellery, people now are opting for stones and other metals instead of gold. ���Gold prices have gone through the roof and the jewellery has become outdated as well. No one goes for gold now for their weddings,��� says jewellery designer Roopa Vohra. ���People prefer to use stones now. And as far as the recession is concerned, I haven���t seen many changes as ours is a niche segment. Those going for standard jewellery might cut down on costs,��� she says.