Jewellers Yash Agarwal and Renu Oberoi tell Team Viva that single, minimal pieces are what brides are embellishing themselves with

When Kareena Kapoor Khan wore a very simple but elegant pearl necklace as the would-be bride in Veere Di Wedding, she set a trend for modern women who are determined to reinvent their ceremonial lookbook. When jeweller Yash Agarwal of Birdhichand Ghanshyamdas, a five-generation-old label, was asked to conceptualise the piece, he saw the film as a way of effecting a change in young women of the country, which he had been intending too but was too weighed in by the old assumption of what the bridal market demanded. He said, “Kareena’s necklace or other jewellery didn’t have the conventional bridal heaviness. I would tell all the brides that it is not about wearing layers and layers and huge necklaces, it is about styling yourself up. It is not about heavy jewellery anymore. A single piece should be more eye-catching and you need to be confident, happy and satisfied.”

While this wasn’t the first time he had designed for a celebrity, he told us that his inspiration for such a simple yet elegant choice was “simply” Kareena. “Her lehenga was vintage, very old. I saw it and had a word with Kareena, Rhea (Kapoor), and Abu Jani. Everyone consented that we should be having a simpler set of jewellery to go with it and decided to keep a very small flower motif to fall on one side. It was a ‘minimum is more’ kind of a thing,” he said. The Jaipur-based jewellery designer opened a store in Delhi while simultaneously unveiling their Delhi Durbar collection.

As such designs represent the transformation of bridal conventions.”The way jewellery is worn is changing. Conventionally, the choker of Rajasthan is supposed to be worn a little lower with another choker inside it. However, brides are just opting for the inside choker. They are matching up their bracelets (hath-bandhs) with the head-gear (maang-tikkas and matha-pattis). This is one noticeable trend. Every jewellery that you wear should make an impact and look classy. It should also do justice to your ensemble. It should look justified.”

Giving life to lost arts to revive the heritage of India, and revering traditions yet modernising their flamboyant creations for the current era, Yash goes by the belief that jewellery now has a wider appeal as an occasion wear.

Meanwhile, jeweller Renu Oberoi combines design with great utility. Said she, “As a designer, I don’t think that I’d like to identify my jewellery as bridal. It can be worn to cocktail parties and even to a dinner at a friend’s place. It is versatile enough to match Indian, Western, or even casual wear. This fluidity, to me, is complete luxury. I don’t believe in big or heavy necklaces that are stored away in lockers. It’s awkward to wear such jewellery at a dinner party. So why not design something that comes with utility?”

Trends in India naturally get linked to Bollywood and celebs. For Renu, “Bollywood is an important part of building fashion aspirations” but in the end one has to respect the self-worth of every kind of woman to make sense. “Jewellery is not trend-based. It is something that is passed down from generation to generation. For instance, what I am wearing today could be passed to my great granddaughter. The greatest challenge is to make it look timeless, therefore.” Renu revealed that she finds inspiration from and looks up to Fawaz Gruosi, the founder and owner of De Grisogono, in this respect.

The trendmasters were part of a wedding show by a lifestyle magazine.

Photo: Pankaj Kumar

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