Velveteen winters

This year has been big on 90s trends — from chokers to glitter to platform heels, we’ve seen them all. Another trend from that era that has made it to runways and even celebrity wardrobes is velvet. The opulent material is no longer just meant for royalty and can be seen in day to day wear. Reigning style queens of Bollywood, Deepika Padukone and Sonam Kapoor, and even our very own Amy Jackson have been quick to jump onto the wagon and looked great doing it. We speak to the fashionistas around town to find out what they think of the trend.
Harshaa Jain, the designer and stylist for fashion house HashTag, says, “I guess the trend’s made a comeback now because no matter who the person is, when they wear velvet, there’s a certain luxurious feel to it. Colours also become brighter and more elevated when they are combined velvet. It’s also comfortable and you don’t need to add many accessories to it - a simple fit dress or jumpsuit do too!”

She adds, “People who like to own unique pieces should look at getting themselves a customized velvet jacket. For those who want to get in on the trend for a short while, I would suggest a jumpsuit or even a few colourful jeggings.”
For Anu Parthasarathy, a popular costume designer in the industry, the material has always been a favourite. “I love working with velvet, especially when the song sequence or set is meant to be grand. A gorgeous lehenga with embroidery or a saree with a velvet blouse, do the trick for me. I love playing around with the material and sometimes combining it with net, to add an extra oomph factor,” she shares. She goes on to name bottle green, wine, maroon and black as her favourite colours when it comes to velvet couture. When asked how she thinks people can incorporate it into their own wardrobes, she says, “Even though Chennai’s weather is not really conducive to wearing a lot of velvet with layers, people can try wearing a short dress in the fabric to a party if it’s not for a long duration. If travelling elsewhere, a quilted jacket would look wonderful too!”

“I own a lot of velvet clothes and love to wear them,” says actress Parvathy Nair and adds, “I think it’s perfect for winter time especially if you’re travelling up north or outside the country. There’s so much variety that you can experiment- caps, boots, scarves and dresses. I especially love velvet in black, grey and violet.” And how do people down south get their own share of velvet? “It’s not necessary to be dressed head to toe in the material, pairing a velvet top with light pants would look great. Kepp the full-sleeved short dresses for the evening and you’re good to go,” she answers.